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LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 




Hiram Paulding 

Rear- Admiral, U. S. N. 

About 1863 

From a photograph by Gurney, New York 



LIFE OF 

HIRAM PAULDING 

REAR-ADMIRAL, U. S. N. 



BY 

REBECCA PAULDING MEADE 



NEW YORK 

THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY 

1910 






Copyright, 1910, by 
The Baker & Taylor Company 



Published, November, 1910 



t 



V ^ 



S'^ 



The Plimptoji Press Norwood Mass. U. S. A. 



PREFACE 

The United States of America with its 
extended coast line may well look to its 
Navy as an important factor in its exist- 
ence and for its defense; and we, who enjoy 
the blessings won for us through stormy 
days of struggle, hold in appreciative remem- 
brance the names of those who in the infancy 
of the republic did good and valiant service 
in their country's cause. 

Before the memory of the old Navy is 
effaced by the glories of the new, and the 
old '4ine-of-battle-ship" is forgotten in the 
presence of our magnificent floating engines 
of war, a sketch of one of the officers of the 
older days may not be without interest. 

The effect of the strong personality of a 
brave and just man, with cool head and 
good judgment to meet the emergencies 
arising in a public career, is sometimes as 
potent a factor in the country's hour of 
need as a leader in battle could be. Hiram 
Paulding, enrolled on his country's honor 
list from 1811 to 1878, was one whose 



vi PREFACE 

career and example, whether afloat or 
ashore, are worth remembering. 

In taking up a work of biography one 
asks, ^'Who was he?" '^What was he?'^ 
''What did he do ? '' ''Why is his past worth 
recaUing?'' 

This book, which lays no claim to literary 
merit, is an attempt, on the part of his chil- 
dren, to tell to those who care to hear it the 
story of one of our public men, a chivalrous 
hero of the old days, ''sans peur et sans 
reproche,'^ whose official life is interwoven 
with his country^s history, whose home life 
was a rarely beautiful one, and whose ex- 
ample is worthy of imitation. 

Even in these days bristling with stories 
of heroes of fact and fiction, of the field and 
of the sea, this may have interest for some 
who esteem faithfulness to duty a cardinal 
virtue. 

R. P. M. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTEB 



FAOB 



I Hiram Paulding's Ancestors .... 1 

II Hiram Paulding, the Boy .... 5 
Midshipman; Early service on the Lakes. 

III Maturity 14 

Norwich Academy; The Rigging Loft. 
Lieutenant; Service under Decatur; Under 
Hull in the Pacific; Volunteer cruise in the 
schooner Dolphin in search of the mutineers 
of the whale-ship Globe. 

IV Paulding's Visit to Bolivar in his Camp . 19 

Return to Lima after some years' absence, 
condition of the people socially and pohtic- 
ally; Danger to our commerce makes it 
necessary to communicate with General 
Simon Bolivar whose location was not known 
save that it was across the Andes; Orders 
from Commodore Hull to proceed on horse- 
back with despatches to the General. Hua- 
cho; Difficulties in setting out — equipment, 
passport. Huava; Barranca River; Huaura; 
Indian mounds; Supe, entertainment there; 
Patavilca; Huaracanga; Desolate road ap- 
proaching the apparently impassable moun- 
tain range of rocks; Chancallain. 

V In the Midst op the Andes .... 52 

Precipitous road along the ravine, fall of 

the mule; Marca, the last habitable place this 

side the Andes; GHmpses of the ''vecuna" 

and the condor, flowers and grass soon ex- 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGB 

change for snow and ice, and the glorious 
view from " La Punta "; Difficulty of breath- 
ing at this great altitude. Arrival at Arra- 
quai at the foot of the Cordillera; At Huaraz, 
headquarters of General Bolivar; Interview, 
four days spent with him; Return to the sea- 
coast; Guide lost his way, danger of starva- 
tion, reUef at last; Safely at the ship. 

VI Various Services 86 

Lieutenant in the Mediterranean on the 
Constellation and in command of the Shark; 
1837; promoted commander, service on the 
Levant and at the U. S. Navy Yard, New 
York. 1844, captain of the sloop of war 
Vincennes; China. In command of the 
frigate St. Laiurence, North Sea cruise. Ex- 
tracts from the Journal; Letter from Count 
Platen of Sweden. 

VII Command of the Navy Yard, Washington, 

D.C 134 

Promoted commodore; In command of the 
North Atlantic or Home Squadron, sailing 
frigate Potomac. 

VIII Transferred to the Wabash .... 156 
Transferred to steam frigate Wabash, long 
cruise; Visit of President Pierce. 

IX The Capture of William Walker . . 180 
Orders from Navy Department, capture 
of the filibuster William Walker; Couplet at 
the theater — "As the burnt child dreads 
scalding, let ' filibusteros ' beware of Com- 
modore Paulding." Relieved of his com- 
mand; Nicaragua in gratitude presents him 
with a sword and an estate in her country; 
In retirement at his home during the remain- 
der of President Buchanan's administration. 



CONTENTS ix 

CHAPTER PAGE 

X Friendships 201 

Josiah Tattnall, Siday Hawes, Churchill 
C. Cambreleng, Joseph Smith, U. S. N. 

XI The Sailor at Home 219 

XII Early Days of the Civil War . . . 232 
Service in Washington; Letters. De- 
struction of the Navy Yard at Norfolk. 

XIII Service at the Navy Yard, New York, 

1861-63 255 

In command of Navy Yard, New York. 
The Monitor or Ericsson, as she was first 
called; Riot in New York; Building of the 
"Cob Dock"; ''Peach Blossom," the home, 
destroyed by fire. 

Appendix 272 

No. 1 Letter from H. Paulding to Boyce. 

No. 2 Letter from Boyce to Paulding. 

No. 3 Letter from J. K. Paulding to Hiram 
Paulding. 

No. 4 Sword presentation, Letter from 
Molina to Admiral Paulding and speech and 
letter of Admiral Paulding. 

No. 5 Letter regarding the burning of the 
old home. 

No. 6 Letter regarding the presentation 
of the Italian order of Sts. Mauritius and 
Lazarus. 

No. 7 Paulding's letter of acceptance of 
the order to Cantagalh, Charge d'affaires 
of Italy. 

No. 8 Letter written in dark days of the 
republic, and letters concerning the Monitor. 

No. 9 Letter from Hiram Barney. 

No. 10 Letter to a friend. 

No. 11 Address to the returned veterans 
at Huntington. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Hiram Paulding, Rear- Admiral, U.S.N., about 
1863 Frontispiece 

From a photograph by Gurney, New York. opposite 

PAGE 

John Paulding, born 1758, died 1818 .... 3 

From a miniature. 

Hiram Paulding, Lieutenant, U. S. N., about 1828 17 

From a miniature (artiat unknown). 

Simon Bolivar, The Liberator 69 

From an engraving by W. Holl after M. N. Bate, Lenox 
Library, New York. 

U. S. Frigate Columbus and U. S. Sloop of War 
Vincennes, being towed out of port by Jap- 
anese row-boats, 1844 86 

From an old print. 

Siday Hawes, Coltishall, England, died 1863 . 126 

Hiram Paulding, Commodore, U. S. N., about 
1857 194 

Hiram Paulding, Rear-Admiral, U.S.N., 1862 . 208 

From a photograph by Brady. Enlarged and painted in oils 
by Charles Morse. 



I\ 



LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

CHAPTER I 

HIRAM Paulding's ancestors 

The life of Hiram Paulding would be 
incomplete without a few words concerning 
his antecedents. The earliest record we 
have is that during the days when New 
York was still ^'Nieu Amsterdam '^ and 
when the dwellings in the town were so 
sparsely distributed that on Broadway at a 
short distance from the Bowling Green one 
passed orchards and gardens, one Joost 
Pauldinck, a cord wain er and bolter,^ came 
here from Holland bringing his wife Caterjna, 
and established himself in the city, where 
he remained for many years, being made 
a ''freeman of the city'' in 1683. He ob- 
tained with Colonel Heathcote and others a 

1 As nearly as we can learn, the work of a cordwainer was 
that of adapting French and Spanish leather to the em- 
bellishment of walls and the covering of furniture. Bolting 
had to do with the sifting of flour — as we find from the 
"Bolter's act" which affected the flour merchants. 
1 



2 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

large grant of land near White Plains, and 
there is a record that for a time he Hved 
near Tarrytown and was deacon in the old 
church at Sleepy Hollow for a year. He 
was part owner in the privateer Wheel of 
Fortune, commanded by Abraham Van 
Lare. Business took him again to New 
York, but in 1703 and 1706 he sold out his 
interest there. 

His sons were Abraham and Joseph and 
two others, names unknown. Joseph, who 
was admitted freeman in 1735, married 
Susannah White, and in 1753 removed to 
Tarrytown. 

Previous to this he had leased a part of 
what was then known as the ''Commons," 
now City Hall Park, New York, and in 1741 
established a brick-yard not far from the 
poor house erected there in 1736. Only 
two of his children grew to manhood, Pekt, 
or Peter, and John, born in 1758, who in 
1775 was a private in a militia regiment. 
Peter was an ensign in the first militia 
regiment of this country. At the close of 
the war John was made major in Colonel 
Van Cortlandt's regiment of militia. This 
branch of the family are all buried at Sleepy 
Hollow and have tombstones in the church- 
yard there. 




John Paulding 
Born 1758 — Died 1818 

From a miniature 



HIRAM PAULDING'S ANCESTORS 3 

As John was the father of the naval officer, 
we follow him to his farm in Westchester 
County, where most of his life was spent. 
Militia duty in that locality was no sinecure 
during the Revolution, and John Paulding 
made his presence felt wherever active 
vigilance was needed, and his readiness and 
alertness in the capture of Major Andre 
showed him a man not easily deceived or 
Hghtly to be regarded. The story of the 
capture of Andre by John Paulding, Williams, 
and Van Wart is well known in the annals 
of the country. John Paulding was made 
prisoner several times, and narrowly escaped 
with his life, as his exploits had roused great 
hostility on the part of the Tories. At the 
close of the war Congress presented to each 
of the captors a medal v/ith the word 
'^Fidelity" inscribed on one side. The 
Paulding medal is in the possession of the 
descendants of the eldest son, George. 
Copies of the original were made for two 
other members of the family. 

John was married three times and left 
a large family of children. His first wife, 
Sarah Teed, was the daughter of a Tory 
neighbor. One only of her children, Nancy, 
lived to mature years. The next wife, 
mother of Hiram, was Esther Ward, who 



4 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

died in 1804, leaving eight children, Hiram, 
the fifth child, being only seven years of age 
and his sister Susan an infant. Little is 
known of the boy's life on the farm. He 
often spoke of the faithful care of the old 
colored servant who filled as well as she 
could the place of mother to the mother- 
less children till the father married again. 
George, the eldest of the family, was a 
resident of New York. His son Leonard, 
a naval officer of merit and distinction, is' 
well known in history as one of the heroes 
of our victories at Forts Donelson and 
Fisher. He was a man of charming char- 
acter, brave and true, and beloved by all 
who knew him. He died while on service 
in the Pacific, at the end of a long cruise, 
and on the eve of promotion. 





, CHAPTER 11 

HIRAM PAULDING, THE BOY 

In an atmosphere charged with romance 
and patriotic aspirations, where every hill 
and valley has its story of love and war, at 
Cortlandt, Westchester County, New York, 
December 11, 1797, Hiram Paulding was 
born. Doubtless his young mind was filled 
with stories of the achievements of his 
neighbors, the militiamen, for it was his 
father whose good fortune it had been to be 
instrumental in foiling the traitor's plans; to 
save to us for all time the beautiful fortress 
of West Point; failing which a death-blow 
might have been given to the independence 
of America, and the chance of this refuge for 
the oppressed forever lost to the world. 

At a very early age Hiram met with that 
greatest possible loss, the death of a good 
mother. His boyhood was passed upon his 
father's farm, and his educational advan- 
tages were limited to the primitive coun- 
try schools of those days, but he eagerly 
5 



6 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

availed himself of the opportunity these 
afforded. 

Animated with a desire to emulate the 
brave deeds of his father and his father's 
friends, he early determined to be a sol- 
dier, and application was made for admis- 
sion to the Army. For some reason his 
application for the Army was unsuccessful, 
but through the kindness and influence of 
his friends, on the 1st of September, 1811, 
he received from President Madison an 
appointment as midshipman in the Navy, 
and at once began the study of mathematics 
and navigation under Master Gibbons, an 
Irish exile skilled in those sciences. He 
was then less than fourteen years of age. 
When war with England was declared, he 
was ordered to report for duty on the North- 
ern Lakes, and in 1813 his official life began. 

I do not believe that the parting from his 
home was a sad one, for the mother of the 
little children there was not his own mother, 
but there was one to whom his boy heart 
went out with all its fulness, for his own 
sister was doubtless heart-broken to have 
her brother exposed to the hardships inci- 
dent to a sailor's life in time of war. In a 
package brown with age, long after, when 
in the fulness of years Hiram Paulding had 



HIRAM PAULDING, THE BOY 7 

been called to his reward, the writer found 
the endorsement, in a youthful hand, 
^^ Letters from Sue," and these letters tell 
not only of the deep sisterly affection, but 
of loving appreciation of all the kindnesses 
he had shown her. 

The young midshipman, v/ith orders to 
report to the schooner Thompkins at the 
scene of the war, stood upon the banks of 
the Hudson, with a small trunk containing 
his meager outfit. The steamer Fulton , 
which in those days made her passage to 
Albany in forty-eight hours, had passed up 
the river during the night, but the watchman 
who had promised to call him had failed to, 
and, as a week would elapse before the 
return trip of the Fulton^ he availed himself 
of an oyster-boat which was passing up the 
river and was landed at Albany. Thence 
he took stage to Utica, where he found a 
friend in the Drum Major of a marching 
regiment who was endeavoring to reach his 
command, and together they secured places 
in a country wagon which was conveying 
the mail to the Army. This ride over cordu- 
roy roads was always vivid in Hiram Paul- 
ding's recollection. When within about forty 
miles of Sackett's Harbor, where he was to 
join Commodore Chauncey's squadron, the 



8 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

roads became obstructed by supply wagons 
and other maUriel for the Army. So the 
mail bags were thrown across the back of 
the horse and the wagon was abandoned. 
Fortunately, about this time Colonel Tuttle 
with his marching regiment was overtaken 
and the midshipman's trunk was placed in 
the Colonel's baggage wagon. Noticing 
his extreme youth and delicate appearance, 
the officers of the command urged him to 
take place beside it, but with boyish vanity 
he deemed it beneath his dignity as an 
^'officer," and insisted on marching with 
the regiment. 

The enemy were expected to land at any 
moment at Sackett's Harbor and Colonel 
Tuttle's regiment was moving to the front 
as rapidly as possible. At the end of the 
day thirty miles had been covered, and 
when, late at night, they went into camp, 
the young midshipman was invited by the 
officers to join them in a meal which was 
secured for them in a pubUc house near by. 
Young Hiram seated himself at table, but 
from that moment until the sun was high 
the next day he was unconscious of all that 
happened, for when the tired boy fell asleep 
at table, his friends had placed him com- 
fortably in bed. He arose hurriedly, and 



HIRAM PAULDING, THE BOY 9 

having partaken of some refreshment pro- 
vided for him, he resumed the march alone. 
He found that the enemy had landed and 
had been repulsed — and as he hurried 
along the road he met wounded men march- 
ing and being carried away. This was his 
first glimpse of the horrors of war.^ 

Commodore McDonough being in need 
of officers, service on Lake Ontario was of 
short duration and uneventful, and Paul- 
ding soon found himself in the midst of that 
wonderful work being done on Lake Cham- 
plain, where within six months a fleet was 
built and fitted out which was to achieve 
one of the greatest naval victories of the war. 
He was first transferred to the President 
on Lake Champlain, flag-ship of Master 
Conunandant McDonough, an officer of 
great spirit and experience; and it was a 
fortunate thing for the young midshipman 
to have such a leader so early in his naval 
career. His service there was short and 
we next find him in 1814 on board the 
Ticonderoga, commanded by Lieutenant- 
Commander Cassin. 

During the winter of 1813-14 Mc- 
Donough had superintended the building 

^The above account of his first appearance is from a 
more detailed description written by him for his children. 



10 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

of a squadron that should control Lake 
Champlain, as it became necessary now to 
oppose the British force, which evidently- 
hoped to make this a base of supplies for 
its armies en route to Albany. There were 
many sharp skirmishes on the lake and at 
one time, when the British Army — nearly 
12,000 strong — appeared before Plattsburg, 
one of our gunboats in opposing their 
march along the shore became disabled, and 
with some of the cutters of the squadron. 
Midshipman Paulding was sent to tow the 
gunboat to a place of safety. In the teeth 
of a gale and under heavy fire, with great 
difficulty and some loss of Ufe, he accom- 
plished to the satisfaction of his superiors 
this his first responsible service. 

At last, on the 11th of September, 1814, a 
calm and beautiful Sunday morning, the 
final decisive battle on the lake was fought, 
after which, until the close of the war, the 
frontier was clear of the enemy. Cooper's 
"Naval History," chapter XXIII, gives a 
detailed account of the fight, and of the 
American victory with its far-reaching re- 
sults. The American squadron being short 
of officers, Paulding, under seventeen years 
of age, was entrusted with a lieutenant's 
duties and had charge of the second divi- 



HIRAM PAULDING, THE BOY 11 

sion of great guns on board the Ticon- 
deroga, which vessel bore the whole brunt 
of the attack of the British row-galleys and 
was magnificently fought. Says Cooper in 
his ''Naval History ^^ ''There was a common 
feeling of admiration at the manner in which 
the Ticonderoga defended the rear of the 
line and of the noble conduct of all on board 
of her. Once or twice the nearest vessels 
thought her to be in flames in consequence 
of the awful rapidity of her fire.'' Cassin, 
meanwhile, walked his taffrail amid a 
shower of murderous missiles, perfectly cool, 
seeming to bear a charmed life while he 
directed the firing. 

Paulding had charge of the quarter-deck 
guns, under his eye, to train the cannon upon 
the advancing foe, and his ready resource 
was shown when, the ''matches" having 
given out, he substituted the flash of his 
loaded pistol and there was no cessation of 
the firing. The boy was not conscious that 
he had performed any very special service; 
his pride and gratification then may be 
conceived when in the darkness of the 
ensuing night he overheard his commander, 
Cassin, say to one of the lieutenants, 
"That youngster Paulding is a brave little 
fellow.'' These few words of commendation 



12 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

gave him heart and courage for any duty 
that might come, and when, later, he received 
a sword and $1500 prize-money from Con- 
gress for his ''gallant service" he was 
encouraged to feel that he had proved 
abiUty in his profession. The sword and 
letter accompanying it are in the possession 
of a member of the family, Hiram Paulding, 
2d, his son. 

"In this memorable battle, which broke 
the power of great Britain on the Lakes and 
freed the State of New York from all fear 
of further British incursion, the American 
squadron consisted of fourteen vessels 
mounting eighty-six cannon and carrying 
eight hundred and fifty men. The British 
squadron, as is well known, was virtually 
annihilated, its commodore killed, and all 
its vessels captured save a few row-galleys 
which had previously struck their colors 
and then dishonorably escaped because the 
Americans really had too few men and were 
in too battered a condition themselves to 
pursue and recapture them." 

Many years later the following letter was 
received by Paulding: 

Commodore Hiram Paulding, U. S. N. 

Dear Sir: The citizens of Plattsburg and Clinton 
County, remembering your gallantry and active par- 



HIRAM PAULDING, THE BOY 



13 



ticipation in the naval battle fought off this village, on 
the 11th. of September 1814, request the pleasure of 
your company to unite with them in celebrating the 
coming anniversary of that event. 

We are, with very distinguished considerations, 
Your Obedient Servants 



Theodorus Bailey 
L. Stetson 
G. M. Palmer 
P. G. Ellsworth 
Smith M. Weed 



Committee of 
Invitation 



Plattsburg, 

August 26th, 1858. 



CHAPTER III 

MATURITY 

When peace was declared, Paulding joined 
the frigate Constellation in the squadron 
of Commodore Decatur, fitting out to de- 
mand redress of the Barbary powers, and 
in June, 1815, participated in the capture of 
the Algerine vessels Mashoudah and Estidio, 
So great was the terror of Decatur's name 
and the prestige won by our Navy in the war 
with Great Britain that all grievances were 
promptly redressed. 

In 1816 Paulding was made lieutenant 
and served on the Independence for a time, 
then made a cruise on our coast in the brig 
Prometheus. In the summer of 1818 he 
joined the frigate Macedonian and made a 
three years' cruise in the Pacific Ocean. 

In 1821, the cruise being over, he took a 
leave of absence and, realizing his deficiency 
in certain branches of education, spent 
eighteen months in hard study at Norwich 
in the military academy of Captain Par- 

14 



MATURITY 15 

tridge, which has since helped to equip many 
of our naval officers. ^ Finding after a time 
that his health suffered from too close appli- 
cation to study, he spent some months in 
the disguise of a sailor in a rigging loft in 
Boston where Mr. McClellan superintended 
the rigging of ships. This work and some 
surveying of the Navy Yard of Boston and 
vicinity, although it could hardly be called 
restj enabled him to return to his duties 
invigorated. Long years after, a gray- 
haired, vigorous man came to see him at 
his home. He said that when a young 
fellow he had been carpenter on the Mace- 
donian, where Mr. Paulding was lieutenant. 
Three or four years later, being in Boston 
and going to McClellan' s rigging loft on busi- 
ness, he was astounded to see the Lieuten- 
ant in sailor dress working with the others. 
' ' Mr. Paulding ! " he exclaimed . ^ ^ I beg your 
pardon,'' rejoined his former shipmate, ^^Mr. 
Brown, if you please." But the disguise 
was no longer possible, and, having mastered 
the details of this branch of equipment, he 
returned to his studies with new zest. It 

^ Many of the distinguished officers of the Army and 
Navy are graduates of this Academy — now the University 
of Norwich — among them Admiral George Dewey. See 
"History of Norwich Academy," by Wm. A. Elhs, B.S. 



16 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

must be borne in mind that there was no 
Naval Academy in those days, and the oppor- 
tunities afforded by the Government to its 
naval officers for acquiring a knowledge of 
the scientific branches bearing on the pro- 
fession were of the most meager description. 
Paulding's wise foresight, characteristic of 
the man, enabled him to take rank with the 
best informed men in the Navy. 

His next cruise was as first lieutenant of 
the Sea Gull, the first steamer employed 
by the Government as a man-of-war in a 
squadron commanded by Commodore Por- 
ter, for the suppression of piracy in the 
West Indies. After a few months' service 
in her he returned, under orders from the 
Department, in the Peacock, and joined 
the frigate United States fitting out for 
the Pacific Ocean. 

He was absent nearly four years, during 
which time he performed special service in 
conveying through the deserts of Peru and 
over the Andes secret despatches from 
Commodore Hull to General Bolivar, trav- 
ersing on horseback about fifteen hundred 
miles. His account of this journey, which 
he published after his return under the title 
of ^* Bolivar in his Camp, " was most interest- 
ing. In this trip to the camp of the ''Lib- 




Hiram Paulding 

Lieutenant, U. S. N. 
About 1828 



From a miniature (artist unknown) 



MATURITY 17 

erator" he had an arduous and dangerous 
journey, traversing a belt of wild, arid, and 
mountainous country; after many days, 
having overcome almost insuperable diffi- 
culties, reaching the General and accom- 
plishing the errand. 

While attached to the United States in 
1826 he volunteered for duty on the 
schooner Dolphin, and, as her first lieuten- 
ant, went to the then savage Mulgrave 
Islands in search of the mutineers of the 
American whale-ship Globe. The Dolphin 
on this occasion was commanded by 
Lieutenant John Percival, better known in 
the service as ^^Mad Jack," a seaman of 
uncommon ability and fearlessness, but 
extremely eccentric. Among the midship- 
men was the late Rear-Admiral Charles 
Henry Davis, who said that the boldest 
act he ever witnessed was performed by 
Lieutenant Paulding in the seizure of one 
of the mutineers in face of a mob of infuri- 
ated savages, several hundred in number, 
armed with clubs and spears. With only 
a cutter's crew, Paulding landed, and while 
holding a parley suddenly seized his man 
and, covering his own body with his human 
prize, marched him rapidly to the boat, 
holding a cocked pistol to his ear. The 



18 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

natives, who were friendly to the mutineers, 
were so much surprised by the audacity of 
the proceeding that they made no attempt 
at recapture until too late to do so.^ 

A very interesting account of this cruise 
was written by Paulding and published in 
New York in 1831, the preface being so 
quaint and humorous as to show beyond 
dispute that all the wit of the family had 
not been confined to the author of the 
''Dutchman's Fireside. " ^ 

1 From Life of Admiral C. H. Davie, by his son. 

2 James K. Paulding. 



CHAPTER IV 

PAULDING^S VISIT TO BOLIVAR IN HIS CAMP* 

^'In the month of May, 1824, our frigate 
anchored in the bay of Callao. An interval 
of four years had elapsed since my first visit 
here, and, as far as the eye could discover 
from our deck, no material change had taken 
place. From the bay everything bore the 
same gloomy and forbidding aspect. There 
was the sandy waste, the mud walls, and 
gray thatch of the wretched town. The red 
and yellow stripes of Spain floated from the 
ramparts of the castle, and the island of San 
Lorenzo was there with its frowning cliffs 
warring with the ocean swell and rearing 
aloft its peaks enveloped in fantastic clouds 
and ever-changing mist. 

Over the Valley Rimac the once gorgeous 
city of Lima was indicated by its numerous 
spires elevated above all intervening objects, 
and skirted in amphitheatre by the first 

1 Reprinted from "Bolivar in his Camp," by Hiram 
Paulding. New York, 1834. Out of print. 
19 



20 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

range of mountains that, rising one above 
the other, terminated in the Andes. 

I dwelt with pleasure on the scenes I had 
witnessed in that beautiful city in bygone 
years. Ere the commotions of civil war had 
broken the ties of law and of nature, chang- 
ing the face of everything in its irresistible 
course, Lima was perhaps unequalled in all 
the western world in its splendour and its 
luxury, as well as the more homely comforts 
of life, united with every facility for their 
acquisition. Well might it be called la 
(k ciudad dorado. 

A cloudless sky, the delicious perfume of 
orange groves, and the shady "almada," 
united in effect to charm the senses of the 
stranger as he approached the entrance of 
the city. The wide and well paved streets 
received an air of cheerfulness from the 
fresco-painted walls, and babbling rivulets 
that lined the sidewalks or were sent mean- 
dering through the middle of the principal 
avenues of the city. 

The dwellings of the gentry were accom- 
modated with large courts in front, excluded 
from the streets by gateways, and the inte- 
rior and exterior of the houses were brilliant 
in the highest degree with mirrors and 
gilded ornaments, as well as the most costly 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 21 

furniture. The churches, rich with the 
spoil of two centuries, proclaimed the wealth 
of the city and power of the priests. I still 
remember with pleasure the formal courtesy 
and dignified bearing of the Spanish gentry 
of Lima, who never passed us in the street 
without a salutation, and even the priests, 
who, from policy as well as religious prepos- 
session, could ill conceal their aversion to 
our presence, scarcely ever failed in the 
observance of the same polite attention. 
The Plaza was enlivened with the gay 
merchandise of Spain and the East, arranged 
in neatly shaded booths; in the midst of the 
square gushed with unceasing play a mag- 
nificent fountain, and not far from it the 
River Rimac murmured over its pebbly bed 
on its way to the ocean, passing through one 
of the loveliest valleys under the sun. Peace 
and plenty and contentment seemed to per- 
vade all classes of society, but it was the 
stillness that precedes the bursting of the 
thunder-cloud. 

Had the unchanging climate of Peru 
given place to the impetuous fury of a 
tornado, desolating the whole face of nature 
in its wild career, the beautiful villas and 
fair fields of the Rimac would not have pre- 
sented a scene of such utter ruin as was 



22 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

caused by the revolution. Occupied alter- 
nately by Royalists and Patriots, whatever 
escaped from the rapacity of the one became 
a prey to the other. If the inhabitants had 
not fled from personal apprehension, they 
were torn by violence from their dwelhngs 
and consigned to a prison or the military 
shambles. Their horses and cattle and the 
fruits of the earth were, without reserve, the 
spoils of war. The villages and haciendas 
occupied by the soldiery often became 
scenes of the most desperate forays between 
the contending parties, so that in two or 
three years ruin and devastation usurped 
the place where previously everything was 
to be found necessary to minister to the 
comfort and luxury of the ill-fated inhabi- 
tants. With a wantonness peculiar to the 
bitter hostility inspired by civil war, even 
the choicest fruits and the finest specimens 
of art were unsparingly swept away. The 
city of Rome, when conquered, plundered, 
and enslaved by barbarians, did not exhibit 
more savage traces of ignorance and cruelty. 
Lima passed through the terrible ordeal 
in somewhat happier circumstances than the 
surrounding country, but in the succession 
of events it was visited by an ample share 
of calamity. Society was razed to its very 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 23 

foundations. Banishment, confiscations, 
and forced loans reduced the wealthiest 
famihes to beggary. Their plate, their 
furniture, and indeed everything available 
were sacrificed for the means of present 
subsistence, and in many instances their 
splendid houses were occupied by soldiers 
of fortune. All sources of revenue were cut 
off. Whatever remained of commerce was 
in the hands of foreigners who, somewhat 
protected by their neutral character, profited 
by the calamity of the times. Indeed, such 
was the state of things that almost any 
change could scarcely fail to be for the 
better. 

At the time we arrived the Spanish gen- 
erals were in possession of Callao and Lima, 
all of upper Peru, and the seacoast from 
Callao to the deserts of Atacama; whilst 
the Patriots occupied most of the country 
and coast to the north. 

Under such circumstances, with two 
powerful parties contending for the sover- 
eignty of the country, it was to be expected 
that conflicting interests would lead to 
difficulties of a national character. 

The Spanish Vice-king, who had been 
twice driven from the capital and could 
claim no obedience whatever from the 



24 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

people without heading his army of fifteen 
thousand men which he had assembled in 
upper Peru, still claimed the right, through 
his subordinates on the coast, to capture 
neutral vessels under the laws of the Indies, 
whilst Admiral Guise, in command of his 
patriot naval forces and having the suprem- 
acy at sea, issued his paper blockade of the 
whole coast occupied by the Spaniards 
without a demonstration of force for their 
protection. There was no safety for neu- 
tral ships, and that did not in all cases secure 
our ships from capture and condemnation. 
Our merchants, always first in enterprise of 
difficulty and danger, were first amongst 
the sufferers, and the naval Commander 
soon found that the duties devolving upon 
him were of so multifarious and delicate a 
nature that the most wary discrimination 
afforded but an imperfect prospect of a 
satisfactory adjustment of the evils com- 
plained of. Individual sympathy as well as 
national considerations prompted us by all 
means to avoid a conflict that might injure 
the patriot cause, and the Spaniards had 
nothing upon which we could make reprisals 
for their illegal seizure, if we had been so 
disposed. 
With a due regard for our commercial 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 25 

interests and the preservation of friendly- 
relations with the Patriots, it finally became 
apparent that recourse must be had to 
General Bolivar, who, then at the head of 
the combined armies of Colombia and Peru, 
was making his way through the Andes 
to meet the Viceroy, Lacerna. When this /^^ 
was determined upon as the course to be 
pursued, the individuals interested were 
called upon for the necessary proofs of the 
spoliation upon their property by the Peru- 
vian naval Commander, and, all things 
being in readiness, I was ordered to proceed 
to the headquarters of General Bolivar as 
bearer of despatches to him from Commo- 
dore Hull. A partial knowledge of the 
Spanish language procured for me this inter- 
esting service, and I entered upon it with 
all the zeal its novel character was calcu- 
lated to inspire. 

Great uncertainty prevailed as to the 
situation occupied by General Bolivar, and 
the most profound ignorance was betrayed, 
by all of whom we made inquiries, respecting 
the roads by which his line of march could 
be approached. On the 4th of June, 1824, 
I embarked in the schooner Dolphin, and on 
the 6th landed at the little town of Huacho 
to the north of Lima. Meeting there with 



26 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

an officer of the Peruvian army, from whom 
I obtained some information, I determined 
to take my departure from thence, and, 
accordingly, having landed my baggage, I 
took up my abode with the Governor of the 
place for my accommodation for the night and 
such assistance as it was necessary I should 
receive from him for the prosecution of my 
journey. 

As soon as I was seated in his house we 
entered upon official business. I showed 
him my orders from Commodore Hull and a 
large package of papers sewed up in a bag of 
canvas. He took the order and looked over 
it, but its contents were as incomprehensible 
to him as that of the canvas bag. Conceiv- 
ing, however, that both were important to 
La patria, he was ready to make up in zeal 
for his want of comprehension. His friends 
el primer^ Alcalde and Intendente were 
called in to his assistance, and, availing 
themselves of the explanations I made them 
in bad Spanish, they furnished me with a 
passport that would have done justice to 
the fame of the immortal Sancho Panza. 
It conamanded all governors of pueblos, all 
military and civil officers, and people of every 
description, inhabitants of Peru, to furnish 
me with horses, guides, refreshment, and 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 27 

whatever assistance I might require, the 
same being necessary for faciUtating my 
arrival at the headquarters of the Libera- 
tor. I was fully aware that such a passport 
must be regarded as preposterous by any 
intelligent man, as the Governor of Huacho 
was neither known nor had the least author- 
ity beyond his little village, but, as it 
attached an unusual degree of importance 
to my mission, I chose rather to trust to 
the ignorance and good nature of the people 
with whom I might have to communicate 
on the way, than suggest to the Governor a 
modification of this extravagant document. 
Subsequently I had abundant cause to felici- 
tate myself in this determination. 

Having some previous knowledge of the 
condition of a traveller in South America, 
I had provided myself with a light portable 
bed-saddle and bridle and arms; and I was 
not long in realizing the utility of the first- 
named article, for when the hour of rest 
arrived I found that the Governor had no 
means whatever of giving me tolerable 
accommodation for the night. 

The hour appointed for my departure was 
six in the morning, when horses and a guide 
were promised to be in readiness. Long 
before daylight the voices of the inhabitants 



28 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

mingled with the bursting of sky-rockets 
and jingUng of bells in honour of some saint, 
sufficient to disturb the slumbers of all that 
had found repose in defiance of vermin. 
Six o'clock arrived and there were no horses. 
We waited with impatience until eight, 
when at last three or four were brought to 
the door by the peasantry who, as militia 
in active service, were in attendance on the 
Governor for the execution of his orders. 
I scarcely saw the wretched animals before 
I turned from them in disgust, and indeed 
my mind revolted at the idea of making use 
of them for our conveyance, even for the 
distance of seven leagues, where we were 
promised others. The Governor answered 
my remonstrances by declaring there were 
none better to be had. They were Hterally 
galled to the very bone and so poor that 
they did not appear to be fit for any service 
whatever. I determined at all hazards that 
I would not make use of them and made my 
declaration to the Governor in terms so posi- 
tive that, to free himself of a troublesome 
guest, he directed some of his militia to 
seize upon the first good horses they could 
find coming into market, to whomsoever they 
might belong. 

Accordingly three of them, armed with 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 29 

lances, posted themselves in one of the prin- 
cipal streets leading from the country to 
* the market place, to waylay such unlucky 
paysanos as might be coming in with their 
produce at this inauspicious hour. It was 
not a great while before a female was seen 
ambling along unsuspectingly upon a sub- 
stantial, sleek-looking steed laden with full 
panniers of fruit and vegetables. The soldiers 
seized the horse by the bridle as the woman 
came up to where they were standing and, 
without further ceremony or explanation, 
bade her dismount and yield her horse to 
the service of the State. A scene of painful 
interest ensued. The woman at first obsti- 
nately refused to comply with the demands 
of the soldiers, saying that her husband was 
serving in the Army and that all their horses 
but this had been taken for the service of 
the State, and if she were deprived of this 
also, her children would starve. I thought 
that affecting appeal she made to the human- 
ity of the soldiers would have prevailed with 
them. Such a scene was new to me, but to 
these poor countrymen it was of frequent 
occurrence, which probably, together with 
their individual misfortunes, steeled their 
hearts against the sufferings of others. The 
command to dismount was repeated again 



JC 



30 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

and again with the inflexible sternness with 
which it was first given, and the female, at 
last finding that resistance and expostula- 
tion were unavailing, suffered herself and 
panniers to be taken from her horse. In the 
bitterness of her lamentation I approached 
her, and, placing a sum of money in her 
hands sufficient to compensate her for the 
risk of losing the animal as well as the depri- 
vation of his services, she dried her tears 
and gave me her benediction. Other ani- 
mals were provided for us in the same way, 
and a little after nine I set out in company 
with my companion, Mr. Hunter, and an 
Indian guide, with a sad presage of the 
future, so disagreeable had been the com- 
mencement of our journey. 

Our road lay through the small valley of 
Huava nearly on a parallel with the sea- 
coast, and for three or four miles it was 
skirted with a wild growth of cane and 
algawha interrupted occasionally by cul- 
tivated ground. In such places trees of the 
orange, lemon, fig, and guayaha, with those 
of other tropical fruits, were tolerably abun- 
dant and the ground, intersected by numer- 
ous rivulets, with which it was irrigated at 
pleasure by the husbandman, sent forth in 
luxuriance whatever had been planted there. 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 31 

The heavens were clear and bright without 
a cloud, the air breathed its softest zephyrs 
through the wild leaves that half the way 
overhung our narrow path. The birds car- 
oled their morning lay in sweet accordance 
with the murmuring streams, save which, 
the silence of the tomb was there. A charm 
pervaded the whole scene and we were too 
much under its influence not to pass over 
this quiet valley with truant steps. The 
enthusiast accustomed to indulge in pleasant 
visions of the fancy could alone realize our 
feelings in passing through the little valley 
of Huava, and the evanescence of such a 
vision, when interrupted by some disagree- 
able reality of human life, might well describe 
the sensations that came over us in emerg- 
ing from it. 

A desert of sand with rude and inhos- 
pitable mountains lay before us. On the 
borders of this desert was situated the small 
town of Huaura, containing about 1000 
inhabitants. At this place the guide had 
been directed to take us to the house of 
the Governor for breakfast, such being the 
custom in respect to officers travelling in the 
service of the State, and to which I found in 
the beginning of our journey that we must 
conform, there being no houses of public 



32 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

accommodation anywhere. On arriving at 
the Governor's house it promised such 
wretched fare that we did not long dehb- 
erate in coming to the determination of 
contenting ourselves with some bread that 
we obtained at a pulparia near at hand. 
The houses of Huaura were of cane and clay. 
Its appearance was wretched and that of 
the inhabitants generally of extreme poverty. 
With but a few minutes' delay we continued 
on, and soon found ourselves on the desert 
over the road leading to the valley of Bar- 
ranca, where we were to remain for the 
night. 

Two or three miles from Huaura we came 
to a number of large irregular mounds of 
earth such as are met with in Peru, and 
of which neither history nor tradition has 
furnished any account that can be relied on 
respecting the purpose for which they were 
made. By some it is supposed they were 
burial places, some suppose the treasures 
of the Incas were concealed there in the 
time of the conquest, and some that they 
were reared as monuments in commem- 
oration of important events or the reign 
of distinguished Incas. It is certain that 
human remains are often found beneath 
them, and it is also certain that great treas- 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 33 

lire in gold and silver ornaments, as well as 
utensils for domestic use, have been dis- 
covered in these singular monuments of 
antiquity. Of those now before us I received 
no information except from our guide, who, 
in answer to my question, said that people 
without baptism had been buried there, and, 
not being good Christians, had gone to 
'4os infiernos/' 

No road could be more wearisome or less 
interesting than the one by which we made 
our advance upon Supe. The only variety 
was hill and dale of sand, except the bones 
of animals that had perished on the way, 
with which the ground was strewed over the 
customary track. The meridian sun poured 
down its vertical rays whilst a dry and 
parching heat rose from the arid sands. 
Like the mariners of Columbus in approach- 
ing the equator, one might have supposed, 
prompted by the ignorance of those early 
times, that we were fast approaching to the 
confines of human hfe. About three in the 
afternoon, when we had travelled upward 
of twenty miles, a small valley near the sea- 
shore opened upon our view. Near the 
centre of it was the village of Supe, con- 
taining four or five hundred inhabitants. 
Although much smaller than Huaura we were 



34 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

more hospitably received. The Governor, 
having read my passport from Huacho, 
welcomed me into his house where he intro- 
duced me to a party of his young friends 
who had just assembled at dinner. The 
Ollapodrida and a broiled quarter of lamb 
were already smoking on the table, and 
highly to our satisfaction, we were cordially 
invited to partake. It was a large, roughly 
made oak table, without cloth or cover, on 
which our dinner was placed, benches were 
arranged beside for seats, and with three 
spoons and as many knives and forks, ten 
of us dined abundantly without any other 
inconvenience than that of occasionally 
conferring and receiving the favor of an 
exchange of a knife for a spoon, spoon for 
fork, etc. I know not whether it should be 
spoken of as an inconvenience, as it seemed 
at the time to promote the sociability and 
good understanding of the company. It 
was particularly pleasing when one of the 
young ladies proffered the use of her fork or 
spoon and perhaps requested one's knife in 
return. 

The fastidious slave to custom, whose 
uncheckered life had passed smoothly over 
the current of time, would have felt himself 
in an awkward predicament seated at the 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 35 

social board of my hospitable entertainer, 
but my professional pursuits had repeatedly 
placed me in situations where I found it 
necessary to regulate my wants according 
to the customs or necessities of other people, 
and the principal inconvenience that I ex- 
perienced in the present instance was that 
of not feeling myself sufficiently familiar 
with the etiquette of the society in which I 
was thrown. My kind host sent round his 
wine in liberal abundance with many a 
merry jibe, the party seemed to partake of 
his good nature, and after a most pleasant 
repast we arose from the table in the best 
humour imaginable and as good friends, per- 
haps, as though we had been much longer 
acquainted. The ladies invited me with 
the rest of the company to join them in the { cc ^ 
portico para fund and one of them drew 
from her bosom a segar box which she 
politely handed round and afterward helped 
herself. 

The day was far advanced when, after 
interchanging a kind farewell, we set off for 
Barranca. We had three leagues to go. The 
road was the same as that we had passed 
over in the morning, but the sun had lost its 
power, and our dinner-party furnished us 
with subjects of mirth with which to beguile 



36 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

the time. Barranca is situated near the 
mouth of a small rapid river that takes its 
rise in the Andes. The valley is narrow and 
the town contains not more than five hun- 
dred to a thousand inhabitants. It was 
after sunset when we got there. The Gov- 
ernor directed a young officer to conduct me 
to the house of an old widow lady and require 
of her to furnish us with accommodation 
for the night. I shall not soon forget the 
agony the poor old woman expressed as 
she burst into tears and exclamations when 
the orders of the Governor were delivered 
to her. She declared that she had not bread 
for herself, much less could she provide for 
officers of the State. . . . That, besides her 
poverty, she was a lone woman, and it was 
oppressive cruelty in the Governor to impose 
such burdens upon her. I proposed to the 
ofiicer that he should return to the Gov- 
ernor and ask that we might be sent to some 
house where it would be less painful to the 
occupant to receive us, but he declined, 
saying that if the Governor should order it 
otherwise the same complaint of poverty 
would be made by any inhabitant of Bar- 
ranca. Accordingly I set about to reassure 
her. Believing that her principal objection 
was to the poverty of the patriot officers 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 37 

who usually travelled at the expense of the 
State, and the reluctant citizens upon whom 
they were quartered for their lodging and 
temporary accommodation, I declared my 
ability and inclination to make liberal com- 
pensation for all her trouble and expense, 
when she consented to receive us. Accus- 
tomed to this rude imposition of strangers 
upon her hospitality, she soon forgot the 
restraint naturally to have been expected 
from the manner of our introduction, and 
treated us with the familiar courtesy of 
friendly visitors. The young officer, also, 
received a kinder welcome than at first. 
Companionable in his disposition, pleased 
with the novelty of his new acquaintance, 
he was in no haste to depart after having 
fulfilled the important command with which 
he had been entrusted, but, taking to himself 
no small degree of credit for having pro- 
cured for me so good a lodging, he whiled 
away the evening with us, consenting to 
partake of the good cheer our kind landlady 
prepared for us in the best manner she 
could. This house was large and an excel- 
lent dwelHng, for the place belonged to 
a Royalist who had been banished after 
having been deprived of all the visible 
means by which his family could be sup- 



38 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

ported, since which time travellers were 
occasionally sent to the helpless woman for 
accommodations, to aggravate her wretched 
change of fortune, a mode of punishment 
that was very often practised upon this 
unfortunate class of citizens in Peru. 

At six on the following morning, June 7th, 
the Governor sent a change of horses by the 
guide that was to accompany us as far as 
Patavilca, the guide from Huacho having 
been sent back with the horses that belonged 
there. My worst apprehensions were 
realized when they were brought to the 
door. They were of the same description 
as those first proffered to us at Huacho, 
and with the same promptitude as at that 
place I refused to receive them. I have 
since considered my conduct on these occa- 
sions, as well as some others subsequently, 
as bordering on temerity, and by all unac- 
quainted with the necessity of a like deport- 
ment it would be considered presumptuous 
in the highest degree. My experience, how- 
ever, taught me that by this means alone 
could I have proceeded on my mission with- 
out being exposed to the most serious calam- 
ities. The Governor of Barranca at first 
insisted that there were no other horses, but 
after some delay procured better ones for 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 39 

me, and late in the morning we continued 
our journey, receiving from our landlady at 
parting her grateful thanks and kindest 
wishes. 

We were gratified in leaving Barranca to 
find that, instead of wading through the 
sands of the sea coast, our road lay in the 
interior toward the mountains. Delighted 
with the idea of soon enjoying the grand and 
magnificent scenery of the Andes, a new 
impulse was given to our feelings. Crossing 
the wide and rapid stream of Barranca, we 
pursued our way along a narrow valley skirted 
on either side by an undulating desert, from 
which here and there arose conspicuously 
huge masses of black or darkly colored rock. 
The valley itself was miostly inundated from 
the overflowing of the river's banks. But 
little of it was cultivated; it was overgrown 
with wild cane and stumpy brushwood 
which in many places formed an arbour over 
oiu" narrow pathway. 

At eleven o'clock we arrived at the small 
and beautiful village of Patavilca, where the 
old Governor received us with the politeness 
and urbanity of a gentleman that had seen 
better days. The office of governor in these 
small places conferred no advantage what- 
ever upon the incumbent, as there was 



40 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

neither salary nor emolument attached to 
it. On the contrary he usually incurred the 
odium of the majority of his fellow citizens, 
upon whom in the exigencies of the State 
he was called upon to exercise the most 
oppressive authority, laws and individual 
rights being disregarded in the almost utter 
destitution of the country. Officers of the 
Army were constantly passing to and fro 
with passports from the Cormnander-in- 
chief recommending them to the hospitality 
of the Governors of places, and to the poor 
Governor no other alternative was left than 
to quarter them upon some citizen if he 
could not entertain them himself. In a short 
time, perhaps, he alienated his best friends 
by frequent impositions of the kind. Hav- 
ing obtained the unenviable preeminence, 
there was no remedy for the poor Governor, 
for resignations were not received at this 
trying period, and any neglect of official 
duty brought upon him the odium of sus- 
pected patriotism and at no distant period 
its fatal consequences. Don Hose Roxas, 
our host at Patavilca, was a good patriot, 
having, as he told us, devoted his only son 
to the cause. Whilst he entertained us with 
a glass of sour wine and some broiled goat's 
meat, he had caused a relay of horses and a 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 41 

new guide to be furnished to take us to 
Huaracanga, where we were to spend the 
night. 

We now left the valley and pursued our 
road parallel with it over a desert and broken 
country, each undulation rising higher than 
the other as we advanced in the interior. 
The barren rocks that here and there rose 
in rude contrast above all the rest of the 
irregular desert became more and more 
elevated, corresponding with the acclivity of 
the whole face of nature in its retrograde 
from the ocean. Our eyes were fixed upon 
one of these rude spots with more than 
common interest as our winding road led 
us along upon its base. Inaccessible on 
all sides but one, it there rose at an angle 
of about forty-five degrees, and parapet 
ranged above parapet in regular succession 
from near the base almost to the top, which 
I estimated at about four hundred feet high. 
Here the ''Children of the Sun^' made one of 
their strongest efforts to resist or foil their 
invincible conquerors. Within sight of this 
ancient fortress is a mound of earth where 
a recent excavation had left exposed large 
numbers of human bones, and I remarked 
that several of the skulls still had the hair 
upon them almost entire. Pieces of woolen 



42 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

and cotton cloth were also scattered upon 
the ground, some of the colors of which 
were still bright, although they had prob- 
ably lain biuried in the earth for centuries. 
Many things are found in these places in a 
state of wonderful preservation, and amongst 
other remarkable discoveries that have 
been made by the curious or the avaricious 
was a banner of one of the Incas. It was 
presented to General Bohvar. 

We had not moved faster than a slow 
walk for the whole day with our wretched 
horses, and the poor creatures gave out 
a little before we arrived at Huaracanga. 
Had they been able to travel further, the 
approach of night would not have prevented 
us from continuing on, such was the miser- 
able and inhospitable appearance of this 
place. The village consists of a dozen small 
huts that were built of reeds. The gov- 
ernor, who was at the head of affairs, el pri- 
mer i Alcalde, and the rest of the inhabitants 
were Indians, extremely poor and filthy. 
Here and for some distance below, the rocks 
and mountains had encroached upon the 
valley so as to confine it to a narrow space 
upon the banks of the rapid stream that 
rushed along over its deep-worn bed and 
upon the borders of which alone the prin- 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 43 

ciple of vegetation was seen to exist. No 
signs of animal life met the eye but in the 
squalid creatures of inhabitants who seemed 
to regard us with silent apathy; and the 
outline of the Andes, which was now pre- 
sented in bold relief, was the only object the 
weary and worn traveller could behold with- 
out disgust or sinking of the heart. 

We had partaken of food but once 
through the day and our disappointment 
may be imagined when, after liberal prom- 
ises to the Alcalde if he would provide well 
for us, nothing was set before us but some 
boiled roots of the cassava. Blessed with 
health and good appetites, we could ill digest 
such frugal fare, but, after asking in vain 
for meat or bread, we submitted to it with 
the best grace we could. The Alcalde had 
neither bed, table, nor seats of any kind. 
The only articles of furniture in his hut 
were two iron cooking utensils and two 
small mats that were laid upon the ground 
for sleeping. If our desolate resting-place 
exhibited to our observation so little of 
animal life, we were not insensible to its 
existence when we had stretched our weary 
limbs for repose, and in the morning we 
arose unrefreshed, rejoicing in the light of 
another day. 



44 LIFE OF. HIRAM PAULDING 

The Alcalde had been faithful to his 
promise of having our horses ready at an 
early hour. They were miserably poor and 
little did we expect they would hold out to 
transport us to Gulcan, the next inhabited 
place on our road. Weary, half famished, 
and with a reasonable prospect of faring 
still worse, we set off, happily with a good 
share of patience and fortitude. Not even 
a shrub or spear of grass was anjrwhere to 
be seen over the country we passed between 
Huaracanga and Gulcan. The steepness of 
the road increased and hills of sand and rocks 
had swelled into mountains. A few miles 
from us and apparently almost at our feet, 
mountain range rose above mountain range, 
at first with intervals through which our cir- 
cuitous path winded its narrow way over 
them, but in the distance they seemed to 
unite in one solid mass terminating in the 
clouds and presenting a barrier that in 
appearance would defy all human efforts- 
or ingenuity to pass. The river had sunk 
to a deep ravine from which its impetuous 
murmurs even could not be heard, when, 
descending a barren mountain, we came 
upon a cultivated plain about a mile in 
circumference and we dismounted at the 
house of the Governor of the small Indian 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 45 

village of Gulcan. In answer to our first 
demands he replied that he had neither food 
nor horses for us to continue our journey. 
This was a little too much to be borne. 
We had partaken of no other nourishment 
than the cassava root we obtained at Hua- 
racanga for more than twenty-four hours, 
and our horses were worn out. 

With the energy of a desperate man I 
presented my passport to the Governor a 
second time, telling him to read and disobey 
at his peril. I required of him to provide 
us with food and horses instantly, promis- 
ing an ample share of the Liberator's ven- 
geance for every moment of unnecessary 
delay. That the fear of punishment might 
be stimulated by the additional motive of 
self-interest, I held out the prospect of ample 
remuneration as a reward for his ready 
compliance, and the Governor, yielding to 
his timidity or a sense of official duty, sud- 
denly recollected that there were horses of 
the State at his disposal and that there 
were goats feeding on the plain which we 
could not fail to have observed. A few 
hours' delay, therefore, placed at our com- 
mand a change of guide and horses as well 
as the means of quieting the cravings of 
nature — bread, however, we could not 



46 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

obtain, and the emphatic answer of ''no 
hay" was made to our calls for it. When 
about to take leave of the Governor we were 
made sensible of his scrupulous delicacy in 
observing the point of honour, or if an ill- 
natured construction were given to his con- 
duct, of his fear of offending the higher 
powers. I had placed in his hand a sum of 
money as compensation for what I had 
received and to which at first he made no 
objection, but, having taken counsel of the 
Alcalde, with whom he held discussion for 
some minutes, he came to me with concern, 
saying that it was neither lawful nor proper 
for him to receive money as he was Gov- 
ernor of Gulcan, nor was it matter of formal- 
ity with him only, for he continued with 
persevering obstinacy to insist upon my 
taking the money back, that neither the 
crime nor dishonour of its acceptance should 
attach to him — until I mounted my horse 
and for the last time bade him "adios." 

I was not a little perplexed in my con- 
jectures respecting the old Indian's singu- 
lar pertinacity. Had I received nothing 
but the horses which really belonged to the 
Government, or if he were receiving his 
support from it, the matter would have 
been plain enough, but as he had killed one 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 47 

of his goats for me, was half clad, his author- 
ity extending over the inhabitants of but 
half a dozen wretched huts and he was re- 
ceiving nothing for his office, I could not 
unravel the mystery of his declining the 
acceptance of a sum of money that would 
have tempted the cupidity of one in a 
higher station. 

Our reflections were by no means dis- 
turbed by the rapidity of our travelling, for 
besides the steepness of the path by which 
we ascended mountain after mountain, our 
horses were such as had been given us 
through the whole journey, so poor and ill 
used that over the fairest road they could 
not have been goaded on faster than a slow 
walk. In the language of a gentleman 
whose pleasant fancy I recall with the most 
agreeable associations, ^^Tho^ they travelled 
slow they were going fast." Should this 
simple narrative ever meet his perusal, I 
pay but a just tribute to his indulgent 
temper in presuming that he will forgive 
the borrowed phrase in its present appli- 
cation. 

We had now begun to ascend the Andes, 
and a scant vegetation appeared on some 
of the ranges over which we passed. Our 
road sometimes approached the course of 



48 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

the river from the precipice above which it 
was occasionally seen indistinctly, rushing 
furiously along. The sun had sunk behind 
the mountains some hours before, and the 
shadows of night began to close around us 
when beneath a huge mountain that rose 
perpendicularly over our heads we came to 
a beautiful and romantic dell luxuriant with 
vegetation. This was called Chancallain. 
We here found a curate, the only white man 
we had seen since we left Patavilca. The 
town contained not more than a dozen inhab- 
itants, and save the curate all were Indians. 
A number of trees of the guayaha and 
orange had attained to a large size and the 
ripe and luscious fruit lay thickly scat- 
tered on the ground. The Governor, a 
young man with more of sprightliness and 
good nature than we had anywhere met 
with for some time, received us kindly in 
his hut, where there was but one room and 
no furniture. When we asked him for guide 
and horses he did not reply in the customary 
. phrase ''no hay biestas'^ with which we had 
^ become so familiar as to expect it as a mat- 
ter of course, and without pretending that 
he could not furnish us with food, he 
civilly invited us to partake of broth and 
cassava root as soon as it could be prepared, 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 49 

apologizing for his poverty which did not 
enable him to provide for us in any other 
way. A skin stretched over a square frame 
a little elevated served for a table, the 
broth was placed upon it in a wooden bowl 
and two horn spoons enabled us to carry 
it to our half-famishing lips. Our sleep- 
ing acconmiodation corresponded with our 
fare in other respects. On the ground in a 
new imfinished reed hut, our beds were laid 
as had been customary with us since the 
commencement of our journey, with saddles 
for pillows. 

One would suppose that the poppy with 
all its bewildering influence would quickly 
have closed around us the curtain of forget- 
fulness, and we promised ourselves nothing 
less than refreshing sleep. If the reader 
has been the victim of a burning fever with 
all its attendant, excited restlessness, he 
has realized our irritable state of body and 
mind; added to this the hut had no roof and 
the round full moon sailed through the clear 
and cloudless azure of heaven with a splen- 
dour that might vie with the light of day, 
and being near its zenith our hut was illu- 
mined with a rich stream of its silver rays. 
We closed our eyes and courted oblivion in 
vain until midnight, when a tramp of horses 



50 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

and the approach of several Indians roused 
us from our dormant postures. Always 
watchful to guard against surprise and 
robbery, the guide was dismayed as he 
entered and saw us standing with cocked 
pistols to receive him. He communicated 
to us in few words that the Governor, being 
under the necessity of leaving home on 
pubhc business, had caused our mules to be 
brought up that he might despatch us 
before his departure. The unusual hour, 
and the improbable excuse of the Governor, 
with connecting circumstances of distrust, 
impressed us with a belief that some evil 
design was premeditated against us. The 
guides communicated from place to place 
that I paid liberally for everything, an 
unusual circumstance for a traveller at this 
time, and, knowing that I carried about me 
a sum of money that might well tempt the 
poor people by whom I was entertained and 
directed on my road, such an enterprise as 
I now apprehended would not have aston- 
ished me in the least. Well armed, we had 
no fear of a fair encounter, and, having 
in the presence of the Governor and his 
assembled auditors carefully examined our 
pistols, we mounted and took leave in a 
manner that conveyed to him that we were 



PAULDING'S VISIT TO BOLIVAR 51 

prepared for any emergency that might 
befall us. The Governor's purpose had 
changed or our suspicions had wronged him, 
for we continued our road unmolested.'^ 



CHAPTER V 

IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 

"We were now in the midst of the Andes. 
Immense mountains rose all round us in 
wild sublimity. Our path was scarcely 
wide enough for two horses to pass in safety 
yet. On one side of it perpendicular rocks 
rose in huge masses and on the other was 
a fearful precipice that made one dizzy to 
look down it. At the bottom of this yawn- 
ing chasm the Barranca River was occasion- 
ally indicated, as in sportive gambols over 
its rocky bed the moonbeams played upon 
its ripples. The necessity of caution had 
appeared evident enough to us in many 
places that we had passed on the 
two preceding days, but the danger was 
temporary and of an ordinary character, 
whilst this continued for leagues together, 
and it was clearly evident that one false 
step of the mule toward the precipice 
would consign the luckless traveller to inev- 
itable destruction. 

52 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 53 

Though mules are proverbially sure- 
footed, our watchfulness was unceasing, and 
as the surest means of guarding against the 
danger of a fall we determined to throw 
ourselves upon the opposite side of the path 
should the mule stumble and it were pos- 
sible to do so. We passed along in safety- 
over many a steep and difficult crag, when 
a httle after daylight and not far from 
Marca a smooth steep ledge was presented 
reaching entirely across our path. The 
guide and my companion passed it one 
after the other in safety, but as ill fortune 
would have it my mule slipped and fell 
upon his side. Happily for me my prede- 
termination and presence of mind brought 
me under the ledge, so that I was fairly 
landed clear of the mule without serious 
bruise or injury. 

When personal safety was no longer to 
be considered, my liveliest apprehensions 
were excited for the safety of my mule, 
saddle, bridle, holsters, and pistols, which I 
had not the least doubt would be precipi- 
tated down the fearful chasm as the animal 
should rise. From this painful suspense I 
was relieved in a few moments, for the crea- 
ture rose and fairly balanced himself without 
one step toward the precipice, as if the 



54 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

instinct of his nature had pointed out the 
danger to which he was exposed. 

In a few hours afterward we reached 
Marca, the last habitable spot on this side 
the Andes, and our only resting-place until 
we should descend beyond the range. Here 
we found a town containing several thou- 
sand Indians who lived in huts of reed filled 
in with clay, without ornament or the least 
appearance of neatness. On the north, 
south, and west of it the mountains rose 
with a sharp angle to a great height richly 
covered with herbage, and here and there 
habitations. Domestic animals were graz- 
ing there, and where seen near the tops of 
the mountains looked so diminutive that a 
horse did not appear larger than a dog. 

Our eyes were turned to the east with 
singular delight. In the direction of the 
river, and at first by a narrow pass, we looked 
along over the tops of mountains that 
descended one beneath the other with the 
most regular gradation until far, far away 
the eye rested upon a wide expanse of 
heavy atmosphere with its bright and 
smooth surface lighted by the first rays of 
the rising sun and looking in the distance 
like the unruffled bosom of a widely extended 
lake. My companion at first exclaimed 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 55 

that he beheld the ocean, and such was the 
delusion that our doubts were not removed 
until the broad glare of day was thrown 
upon the mountains and the mist, showing 
things in their natural aspect. 

At Marca we would most willingly have 
rested for awhile, but our exhausted and 
almost sinking frames were stimulated to 
further effort by the disgust inspired at 
beholding the filthy and miserable interior 
of the Governor's habitation. We therefore 
contented ourselves with getting such repose 
as a sitting or leaning posture would afford 
us until fresh mules could be brought for 
our use from the adjacent mountains. We 
here found an abundance of bread and the 
inhabitants were well supplied with all the 
necessaries of Ufe. They did not appear, 
however, to be more than half civilized, and 
a great proportion of them did not speak 
the Spanish language. The Governor was 
a white man, a noisy politician, and, as far 
as I could judge from his language and 
appearance, a vagabond suited to the times. 
He was, however, sufficiently prompt in 
the assistance we required of him, and in a 
reasonable time enabled us to continue on 
our journey. 

The mountains now had become green 



56 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

with grass and the scanty foliage of stunted 
shrubs, flowers fragrant and beautiful 
peered from amongst the rocks and con- 
trasted in pleasing variety with the sombre 
hue of the many prominent objects 'midst 
which they were scattered. In looking 
around us we sometimes found ourselves in 
a circle of steep high mountains where the 
path was not perceptible for twenty paces 
before or behind us and which could only 
be pursued by the practised eye of the 
guide. The condor was seen in numbers 
perched upon some projecting crag or sail- 
ing majestically 'round the cloud-capped 
peaks. Late in the afternoon we had 
arrived near the summit of the Cordillera, 
where for a considerable extent we entered 
upon table-land of gentle ascent. There 
for the first time we saw the vecuna, an 
animal much resembling a sheep, with wool 
of great fineness and a pale red hue. Flocks 
of from five to ten were numerously scat- 
tered about upon the plains and adjoining 
mountains and where they happened to be 
near our path they scarcely ever retired at 
our approach. Patches of snow and ice 
resumed the place of flowers and herbage 
as we neared ^'La Punta. " Although the 
warm season was far advanced, whatever 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 57 

of buoyancy or pleasing association had 
been inspired by the summer smiles of 
our morning and mid-day ride was now as 
suddenly changed to the melancholy gloom 
of winter. 

A cloudless sun was just sinking in the 
west when we came to "Lsi Punta'^ or the 
highest peak of the black Cordillera. Here 
a scene all at once burst upon us calculated 
to fill the wondering mind with unbounded 
admiration and delight. A valley some 
thousands of feet deep, and a league or two 
across, intervened between us and the 
eternal snow-covered Andes. In front of 
us, to the right and to the left far as the eye 
could reach, were masses of huge mountains 
glittering with the last rays of the setting 
Sim. Fancy can not conceive and language 
can not describe the magnificence and splen- 
dour of the beautiful and endless scene. I 
can in no way so well express my predomi- 
nant feeling at the time as by saying in the 
language of the poet, ^^I looked from nature 
up to nature's God." 

If physical nature in its most lowly and 
humble features will sometimes call forth the 
ardent aspirations of man toward the great 
Author of creation, how must the soul kindle 
at beholding the grand outline of His work 



58 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

where the impress is so bold and palpable, 
not only bold and palpable to the mind, but 
dazzling the imagination with its unparalleled 
beauty in its wildest flights. A giant city 
filled with spires and domes of burnished 
gold would convey but a faint idea of the 
grand and glittering splendour of the Andes 
as they appeared to us from ^'La Punta." 
The eye strayed from sunlit peak to deep 
valleys where the rays of light fell obliquely, 
and the snow was seen through the thick 
shadows of the mountains only. Thence 
over other peaks into other valleys in end- 
less variety. 

We felt what is experienced by all trav- 
ellers here, a severe headache and great 
difficulty of respiration. So much did it 
affect my companion, Mr. H., that any 
alternative seemed preferable to him to con- 
tinuing on, although it was fittle better than 
madness to think of anything else. There 
was but little change from day to night. 
The snows of the Cordilleras threw the 
reflected rays of the full moon around us so 
that we could see quite as well as though it 
had been day. It was well for us that it 
was so, for without a broad light and the 
experience of our guide it was impossible to 
find the way down the mountain. We were 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 59 

several times astray and had to retrace our 
steps after coming to a dangerous precipice, 
and indeed for a long time I thought we were 
going at random, for there were no marks 
whatever, over the hard and flinty rocks, 
of other travellers having gone before us. 

When for several hours we had descended 
with toil and difficulty, hurrying our wretched 
beasts over the ground as fast as we could 
and suffering excessively with cold, Mr. H. 
became so ill that I was fearful he would 
have fallen from his horse, and, feeling great 
solicitude for some habitable resting-place, 
I addressed the guide for the first time, 
asking of him the information I wished to 
obtain. He made no reply and a repetition 
of the same question was treated with the 
same obstinate silence. Impatient with toil 
and vexed with what I conceived to be impu- 
dence, threats succeeded to interrogatories 
and, by the poor fellow's confusion and un- 
intelligible speech, I was for the first time 
informed of his ignorance of the Spanish 
language. Exhortation to bear his suffer- 
ings with patience and fortitude was the only 
assistance I could now afford Mr. H., and, 
bearing up manfully against pain and 
exhaustion, we arrived at the Indian city of 
Araquai at the foot of the Cordillera a little 



60 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

after midnight. A church spire rose from 
near the middle of the clay-built town, which 
appeared large enough to contain about two 
thousand inhabitants. Through the narrow 
streets our guide conducted us to the house 
of the curate, where, after having knocked 
for a long time, he was saluted by a soldier 
in his native dialect, whom we followed to 
the house of the Governor. In the middle 
of the room to which we were admitted a 
large table was standing, and around it by 
the flickering of a rush light we saw a num- 
ber of ofiicers and travellers lying upon the 
ground with their heads pillowed upon their 
saddles. 

When it is felt that there is no remedy for 
privations and sufferings man is taught 
patiently to submit to his necessities, and, 
with little ceremony throwing ourselves 
beside some sleeping fellow traveller, we 
enjoyed a sound and refreshing repose till 
long after the sun had thrown his oblique 
rays over the Cordilleras, though his broad 
disk did not appear until the morning was 
far advanced. For the first time we received 
certain information of the headquarters of 
General Bolivar, who was now at Huaraz, 
only two leagues from Ar equal. It was 
noon before our horses were ready for us. 




Simon Bolivar 
The Liberator 

From an engraving by W. HoU after M. N. Bate, Lenox Library 
New York 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 61 

We rode along upon the base of the Cordil- 
leras about one league from the snows. 
High up the mountains all around us were rich 
fields of sugar-cane, Indian corn, and barley. 
Places apparently almost inaccessible were 
cultivated and seemed to promise an abun- 
dant harvest. Trees of the guayaha, cheri- 
moya, orange, and lemon were clustered 
around the uncomfortable-looking mud huts. 
• Although the distance from Arequai to 
Huaraz was but six miles, we were upward 
of five hours in performing the distance. 
At 6 p. M. we entered the city and were 
directed to the house of the Prefect. Here 
everything bore a totally different aspect from 
that of all the places we had seen before — 
many of the houses were large and elegant, 
the streets were wide and well paved, and 
officers and soldiers passed to and fro with 
the martial bearing of their profession. 
The Prefect was a military officer with the 
rank of colonel. As soon as I had communi- 
cated my business to him he gave orders to 
one officer to go and procure me lodgings 
and to another to accompany me to the 
house of the Liberator. 

With a beard unshorn for the whole time 
since the commencement of my journey, 
carrying about me a goodly portion of the 



62 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

dust and dirt that I had fallen in with by 
the way, I had no desire to be presented to 
His Excellency until I had made some 
change in my dress and appearance, and to 
that purpose addressed myself freely to the 
Prefect. It was evident that he did not 
differ with me in opinion as to what I 
proposed, but after a little hesitation he 
remarked that his instructions from the 
Liberator were such that he could not take 
the responsibility of so much delay and, 
though reluctantly, I acquiesced and took 
my leave of him in company with the officer. 
Passing from the street we entered a wide 
court where the guard was stationed. The 
officer of it, a captain or heutenant, was a 
dark mulatto, and several of the soldiers 
were of the same mongrel race. Having 
been announced, in a few moments I found 
myself in a situation that required all the 
self-possession I could call to my aid. I 
was ushered into a long hall where General 
Bolivar was seated at dinner with about 
fifty of his officers in splendid uniforms. 
His Excellency rose from the table, I was 
introduced as an officer of the United States, 
he asked my rank, shook me cordially by 
the hand, and bade me be seated alongside 
of him. He invited me to dine, but readily 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 63 

excused me when I declined doing so. ''I 
presume you have had Uttle wine on the 
road you have travelled/^ said he, ^^and 
therefore you will not refuse to take a glass 
of champagne with me.'^ 

He asked me a variety of questions about 
my journey, talked freely upon various 
subjects, bade the officers to fill round with 
wine, and introduced me by drinking my 
health in a bumper. His cordiahty, his 
frankness, and his unceremonious courtesy 
relieved me entirely from the awkward feel- 
ing I had experienced at my first intro- 
duction. He continued to talk incessantly 
and with great animation whilst he remained 
at the table, which was but for a short time 
after my arrival. When he desired no 
longer to continue the pleasures of the table 
he became silent, and rising from his seat 
the officers immediately took their leave. 
After the company had retired I asked 
whether His Excellency would then receive 
the despatches I had the honour of bearing 
to him or whether they should be delivered 
on the following day, to which he replied, 
^'I will receive them now and examine 
them immediately. You shall return to 
your Commander with my reply as soon as 
it is possible to have it prepared for you." 



64 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

He apologized for not entertaining me in 
his own house, saying there was not a room 
in it unoccupied, and, calling to him Captain 
Wilson, one of his aides, bade him obtain 
comfortable lodgings for me in the house of 
some citizen. ''You must come and break- 
fast with me to-morrow morning," said he, 
'' and be a guest at my table whilst you 
remain at Huaraz.'^ 

Captain Wilson and myself were joined by 
the officer who had been despatched by the 
Prefect to find lodgings for me and by whom 
we were conducted to the house of Don 
Emanuel Sal y Rosa, one of the Alcalde of 
the city. Don Emanuel was not at home, 
and his wife, as usual, told a lamentable 
story of their poverty. The Peruvian 
officer ridiculed the lady's plea of poverty, 
calling her attention to the comfortable 
appearance of everything about her house, 
and I know not how the matter would have 
ended had not Don Emanuel come in and 
put a stop to the controversy by saying his 
house and everything in it was at our service. 
The favorable impression that this gentle- 
manly conduct inspired was fully sustained 
by his uniform politeness and attention 
afterward, and I still remember him as one 
amongst a number of men it has been my 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 65 

good fortune to meet with whose high 
grade of character has eminently distin- 
guished them from the ordinary mass of 
mankind. Senora Sal y Rosa, like a good 
wife, readily seconded her husband when 
she found it was his pleasure to entertain 
us handsomely. She took some pains to 
excuse herself for objecting at first to receive 
us by recounting some of the numerous 
instances in which their patriotism and 
hospitality had been wantonly abused. I 
was so agreeably entertained that I pre- 
ferred a social breakfast with my kind host 
to the formality of the Liberator^s table, 
having regarded his genial invitation as a 
compliment of which I might avail myself 
as best suited my convenience and pleasure, 
and it mortified me deeply to learn after- 
ward that he had waited breakfast for some 
time in consequence of my absence. 

At eleven o'clock I called at his quarters 
in company with General Miller, an English- 
man whose gentleness of character and 
chivalric gallantry won for him the esteem 
and admiration of all that knew him. The 
Liberator met us at the door, said something 
to me about my not breakfasting with him, 
and led me into his audience room, where he 
bade us be seated. He took the General 



66 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

gravely to task for not having joined his 
division of the army, which was far in 
advance, spoke of the necessity of his doing 
so with the greatest possible despatch, and 
for some minutes held forth to him in a 
strain of eloquence partaking in a remark- 
able degree of a mixture of reproof and ex- 
hortation, but with a delicacy which the high 
character and sensitive honour of the Gen- 
eral commanded from everybody, not even 
excepting the Commander-in-chief. 

When General Miller had retired, the 
Liberator entered into conversation with 
me respecting the complaint that had been 
made against the Peruvian Admiral. He 
disapproved of the Admiral's conduct, said 
he had disobeyed his instructions, that he 
would send new instructions by me, and 
that if the Admiral did not conform to them 
and observe the maritime law of nations he 
would have him brought to punishment. 
He spoke in terms of the highest commen- 
dation of the forbearance and moderation 
that had characterized the course pursued by 
Commodore Hull, concluding with the 
remark that nothing less was to have been 
expected from an officer who had already 
acquired so much glory for his country. 

I rose to take my leave, but he detained 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 67 

me, saying that dinner would soon be ready. 
He made a digression from the Peruvian 
Admiral to the political state of Europe as 
affecting the new republics of America. It 
will be remembered, perhaps, that a short 
time previous to this period many people 
in this country as well as in England believed 
that France and Russia would unite with 
Spain to bring her American subjects back 
to their allegiance. General Bolivar alluded 
to it in the course of his remarks, but said 
he had the assurance both from France and 
Russia that they would not interfere with 
the independence of South America. He 
spoke of the sacrifice and suffering of Colom- 
bia in the cause of freedom, adverting inci- 
dentally to the generous sympathy she had 
always received from the people of the United 
States. It was very natural, he said, that 
we should wish success to the new States of 
America, having ourselves passed through 
the same struggle; and he added that their 
cause was the cause of freedom in all parts 
of the world. France and Russia, he said, 
would not be permitted to take part against 
South America without the intervention of 
England and the United States, of which they 
were not ignorant, and besides that, they 
were too well aware of the consequence of 



68 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

exposing their subjects to the corrupting exam- 
ple of a free people fighting against tyrants 
for their liberty. France, he said, had not 
forgotten their own Revolution which, if 
not occasioned, was at least hastened by 
the influence of the liberal principles that 
the troops, sent to aid the people of the 
United States in their Revolution, had 
imbibed by their intercourse with them. 
In this manner he continued to talk rapidly 
with scarcely any intermission, his eyes cast 
down. I sat in silence and listened to him, 
as may be supposed, with intense interest. 
I no longer felt the least restraint in his 
presence. His manner was calculated to 
remove every impression of the kind, for 
although I was but an humble individual 
at his side and he the most remarkable man 
of the age, our condition and our relation 
to each other was evidently mutually under- 
stood and duly appreciated. 

At half-past four dinner was announced. 
A large number of officers were assembled 
in the hall. They saluted as he made his 
appearance, and, placing me at his right 
hand and my companion at his left, the 
company was seated round the table fur- 
nished in the plainest possible manner. Dur- 
ing the whole morning his countenance had 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 69 

been grave and thoughtful, even to deep and 
settled melancholy, but from the moment 
he took the head of his table, surrounded 
by the officers of his army, the whole man 
appeared to undergo an entire change. The 
settled gloom passed from his careworn 
features, his eyes sparkled with animation, 
and with a flow of eloquent raillery or good- 
natured sarcasm, addressing himself from 
one to another of his guests, he threw such a 
charm round the social board that all eyes 
were fixed upon him with gratification and 
delight. 

To the veteran Colonel Sands, an Irish- 
man whose long career of useful service in 
Colombia gave him a high place in the 
Liberator's esteem and who arrived on the 
preceding day at the head of a regiment 
called the '^Rifles," he spoke of their former 
campaigns, asking whether on the plains of 
Houca (where in a few days the Spaniards 
were expected to have been met) his gallant 
regiment could maintain the glory they had 
acquired in so many hard-fought battles. 
The Colonel, as remarkable for his diffidence 
as he was for his intrepidity, blushed deeply 
as he replied in the affirmative. The Liber- 
ator, then addressing the company, related 
a number of briUiant achievements per- 



70 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

formed by the regiment and of individuals 
belonging to it. From Colonel Sands and 
the ''Rifles," with a grace peculiar to himself, 
he turned the eulogium upon other regi- 
ments and divisions of the Colombian Army, 
in all of which some of the officers present 
had acquired a reputation. He said that 
history, whether ancient or modern, could 
not furnish brighter examples of patriotic 
devotion or individual heroism than were 
recorded in the history of the revolution of 
Colombia. In confirmation he w^ent on to 
recount with minuteness and perspicuity 
the brilliant achievements of some of the 
martyrs to hberty with whom he had been 
personally acquainted, or whose efforts were 
in unison with his own in the great struggle 
for emancipation. 

It surprised me not a httle to hear the 
comparisons he made in passing from 
Colombia to Peru. He condemned the 
people of Peru in general terms, said they 
were cowards and as a people did not possess 
a single manly virtue. I thought, though 
his remarks were just, they were both 
impolitic and ill timed, and calculated to 
injure him seriously in the estimation of the 
people of that country, whilst it could not 
possibly answer any useful purpose. I was 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 71 

informed that he was accustomed to speak 
in the same terms of the Peruvians on all 
occasions, and to this I believe it may be 
reasonably ascribed that the inhabitants of 
Peru did not evince more gratitude toward 
the Colombians for their fraternal assistance 
in driving the Spaniards from their country. 

The dinner was served after the Spanish 
custom of placing it on the table in different 
courses, as many as seven or eight of which 
came in succession. The Liberator ate very 
heartily, and I think must have had his 
plate changed a dozen times in making 
his dinner. He drank freely of wine and 
encouraged his guests to do so. He gave 
out a number of toasts, several of which 
were drunk with acclamation. Amongst 
those in compliment to my country was the 
memory of Washington, drunk standing. 

Calling on me for a toast, I gave *' Success 
to the liberating army of Peru and the 
Washington of the south, may glory attend 
them.'' In the course of the repast he 
turned to me, saying, ''My enemies abuse 
me very much and amongst other falsehoods 
they have told of me they say I use gold 
knives." Holding toward me the knife he 
was using at the time, which was of a 
very ordinary kind, much worn, he said, 



72 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

smiling, ''Does that look like gold? They 
say I wish to establish an empire in Peru, 
or, uniting Peru to Colombia, establish an 
absolute government and place myself at 
the head of it. It is all false," said he; 
''they do me great injustice. If I know 
my own heart, " putting his right hand upon 
his left breast, "I would rather walk in the 
footsteps of Washington and die the death 
of Washington than to be the monarch of 
the whole earth, and this is known to all 
who know me well." 

I trust I may be excused for the digression 
if I here remark that I believed at the time 
that General Bolivar was sincere and that 
nothing which transpired subsequently ever 
changed my opinion of his being friendly 
to a liberal Government. 

In the course of the repast some allusion 
was made to the Spanish Army in upper 
Peru, when the Liberator, embracing every 
opportunity of inspiring confidence in his 
officers, spoke of the Spaniards in the sever- 
est terms of scorn and contempt, intimating 
in the course of his remarks that one Colom- 
bian was equal to two or three Spaniards on 
the field of battle. It was said by one of 
his aides that he remained longer at table on 
this occasion than was customary with him. 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 73 

From the time he sat down at the table his 
animation and exciting discourse continued 
with all the energy with which it commenced, 
and, the evening being well advanced, he 
became grave and silent, rose from his chair, 
and the officers retired. In taking our leave 
he told Mr. H. and myself not to be absent 
again at breakfast, and bade us good-night. 
On the following morning I presented 
myself in the court and was met by the 
Liberator at the door, who took me by the 
hand, saying he was glad to find me more 
punctual than I had been on the preceding 
day. He complained of being ill, and at 
breakfast said but little, though marked in 
his attention and courtesy to the officers at 
his table. He did not appear at dinner. 
The officers of his household sat but a short 
time after the cloth was removed. I passed 
the evening with General Miller and Gen- 
eral Nicocher, a Buenos Ayrean by birth, 
and commanding the cavalry. In company 
with them I called on General O'Higgins, 
Ex-president of Chile and nominally com- 
manding a division of the combined Army. 
A map of the country was displayed before 
them and the plan of operations discussed, 
all of which I understood but little, and if I 
had, it would be irrelevant here. 



74 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

On the following morning, June 13th, I 
went again to breakfast with the Liberator. 
He rose from his seat when he saw me enter 
the court and advanced to receive me. He 
took my hands, said he was better, and 
invited me to be seated in his audience 
room. At one end of the room there w^as a 
small chapel with tapers burning, such as is 
often seen in Catholic gentlemen's houses. 
Pointing to it he said, '^You do not go to 
mass I suppose." I replied that although 
no Catholic, I sometimes went to mass when 
in a Catholic country. " What is your relig- 
ion?'' said he. I repUed, ''The Protestant. " 
*'Now," he observed, ''religion depends a 
good deal on fashion." I asked if the 
Protestant rehgions were tolerated in Colom- 
bia. "When the constitution of Colombia 
was framed," said he, "knowing that toler- 
ation of other than the Catholic religion 
would not be received, I took care that 
nothing should be said about religion, so 
that as there was no clause prescribing the 
manner of worship, strangers worship as 
they please." 

Three priests came in richly dressed and 
were politely received by the Liberator, with 
whom they sat and conversed for some time. 
When they retired he saw them to the door, 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 75 

and, turning from them toward his seat, he 
remarked, ^'Esos moncas son ton feo.como 
diablos." I asked whether the priests were 
generally favorable to the revolution. He 
replied that those were friendly to it who 
were born in the country, but that all the 
Spanish priests were opposed to it. Although 
their power was much lessened and was daily 
decreasing, they had still, he said, a great 
deal of influence. ''No old Spaniard," 
said he, '4s friendly to the revolution. 
They will pretend to favor the cause of the 
Patriots whilst we have them in our power, 
but the moment they can aid the Royalists 
they will do so. Their customs, their man- 
ners, their sentiments, their principles, and 
even their colour are all bad. They come 
here bringing with them a combination of 
all the vices of our nature. They have 
corrupted the people of the country. They 
have mixed with negroes and Indians and 
devils and have formed the most accursed 
race that ever lived. This country," said 
he, "can never prosper for a hundred years 
to come. Two generations must pass away 
first. The people of Europe and North 
America must be encouraged to settle here, 
bringing with them their commerce, their 
arts and sciences. These advantages, an 



76 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

independent Government, free schools and 
intermarriages with Europeans and North 
Americans would change/' he said, "the 
whole character of the people and make 
them intelligent and prosperous." 

I was unacquainted with the constitution 
of Colombia, and in the course of this morn- 
ing's conversation asked him if it were 
similar to that of the United States. He 
replied that it differed materially from that 
of the United States. ''Your Government," 
said he, ''can not last. The Executive has 
not power enough. The States have too 
much. Dissension and disunion will be the 
ultimate consequence. It is much to be 
regretted. With a stronger Government 
your country would be the most powerful 
in the world in fifty years. Your commerce 
must be extensive, your countrymen are 
brave and enterprising, you have fine har- 
bours, and an abundance of timber and iron, 
and the time must come when you will 
drive England from the ocean. All Europe, 
imbibing the principles of America, will 
become free, and the civiUzed world in less 
than a hundred years will be governed by 
philosophy. There will no longer be kings. 
The people \vdll find out their power and the 
advantages of liberty." 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 77 

I said to him, ^' There is no one of my 
countrymen who does not feel a Uvely 
interest in the events of your hfe. Permit 
me to ask what first induced you to attempt 
the revolution of Colombia.'^ ''From my 
childhood/^ he replied, ''I thought of noth- 
ing else. I was charmed with the histories 
of Greece and Rome. The Revolution of 
the United States was of more recent date. 
It furnished an example. The character 
of Washington filled my heart with emula- 
tion. The Spaniards who filled all the 
offices in Colombia were tyrants and brutes. 
In 18— myself and two companions (whose 
names he mentioned) went to France. We 
were there when Bonaparte was crowned. 
All Paris was rejoicing. We did not leave 
our room, but even closed the shutters of our 
windows. From France we went to Spain 
and from there to Rome. At Rome we 
ascended the Tarpeian rock and there we 
three knelt and, embracing each other, swore 
to liberate our country or die in the attempt. 
One of them came with me and fell on the 
field of battle. The other never returned 
and I know not what became of him." 

He said that he was three times driven 
from Colombia after the friends he had 
assembled were dispersed or destroyed, but 



78 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

that his friends united with him at each 
time that he returned and they finally 
triumphed. He described the character of 
the Spanish chiefs who commanded at 
different periods in Colombia. They were 
all cruel, but BolJes was the worst of them. 
He was worse than a tiger. Wherever he 
captured a place that had revolted he put 
to the sword men, women, and children 
without discrimination. ^'No civilized 
man,'' he said, '^ could conceive the brutal- 
ity of these Spanish chiefs. In the wars of 
Colombia they murdered at least five hun- 
dred thousand people.'' 

In ordinary conversation the expression 
of his face was grave even to melancholy 
and his eyes were fixed upon the floor, but 
when the subject became interesting he 
looked one full in the face, his features 
became full of animation, and a soul glowing 
with passion seemed to beam from his eye. 

Breakfast was announced at eleven 
o'clock, much to my regret. When we rose 
from the table I took leave of the Liberator, 
his secretary furnished me with the reply to 
my Commander's communications, and His 
Excellency having caused five good mules 
to be placed at my disposal and given me a 
passport in almost as strong terms as the 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 79 

one I received from the Governor of Huacho, 
I took my departure after exchanging a 
kind farewell with Don Emanuel and the 
gallant officers of the Army with whom I 
had the pleasure of having formed an 
acquaintance. 

Unwilling to retrace my steps over the 
mountains and sands by which I had trav- 
elled from Huacho to Huaraz, I gladly 
embraced the advice I received to return to 
the coast at Truxillo, though the distance 
was much greater. Having lost my notes 
relating to that part of my journey from 
Huaraz to the seacoast, and my memory 
failing in most of the particulars that might 
be supposed interesting to the reader, I 
cannot describe the mountains and deserts, 
the rude Indian villages or fair valleys that 
we saw. 

In five or six days, having, after passing 
the mountains, exchanged our mules for 
horses, we reached the seacoast at Santa. 
Here the Governor, who was poor and an 
ignorant creature, sent us to the house of 
Alcalde Pizaro, a mulatto. We passed 
the night in his house and on the following 
morning called repeatedly upon the Gov- 
ernor, urging him to have our horses brought 
up for us, and although he promised at each 



80 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

time that we should have them immedi- 
ately, he paid not the least attention to our 
earnest solicitations, and finally absconded 
from his house. It was some hours after 
the sun had passed the meridian when, 
having sought him in vain through the 
town, my companion accidentally met with 
him in the public square. When the Gov- 
ernor saw Mr. H., he attempted to avoid 
him by flight, but, being overtaken, Mr. H. 
bestowed his horsewhip so freely upon him 
that he promised the horses should be imme- 
diately furnished. Mr. H. threatened him 
with severer punishment if he did not keep 
his promise, and accordingly the Governor, 
moved by apprehension for his personal 
safety, had the horses brought up for us. 

Toward evening we crossed the Santa 
River, a wide and rapid stream w^hich at this 
hour of the day it was difficult and danger- 
ous to cross, being imbedded with large 
rocks and deep from the melting of the snows 
of the Andes through the day. A few miles 
beyond it we refreshed ourselves at the 
hacienda of Guadalupe, where we were re- 
ceived with kindness by the occupant, and 
toward midnight set out for Piesara, a 
small valley at the distance of seventy miles 
and all the intervening distance an unin- 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 81 

habitable desert. Fetlock deep we goaded 
our steeds over the widely extended waste 
of sand, where no trace of a former traveller 
was to be seen, and where the breeze that 
gently swept along from the sea to the 
interior left not a track of footstep behind 
us. Our guide was to us what the compass 
is to the mariner. He led the way, and 
true as the seaman's faith in the unchanging 
magnet, we followed the course he directed. 
Noon of the following day found us thread- 
ing the intervals through devious windings of 
bright and burning sand drifts from which 
we were joyfully emerging into a damp and 
marshy valley overgrown thickly with reed 
and the Algaroha and stretching from the 
sea to the rocky and desolate mountains of 
the interior. At first we continued along 
in confidence, turning to the right or the 
left as obstacles were presented, sometimes 
retracing our steps and advancing where the 
way appeared more open until it was evident 
that our suspicions were but too well con- 
firmed that the guide was bewildered if 
not lost. The valley was about a mile 
across and we could penetrate to within 
one hundred yards of the side opposite to 
that by which we had advanced, but there 
we found that, whatever way we approached 



82 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

it, a thick growth defied all our efforts 
to pass. The guide, unwilling to acknowl- 
edge his misfortune, made repeated excuses 
until they were lost in improbability and 
we openly accused him of deception, enter- 
ing at the same time some suspicion of his 
having led us into an ambush. We were now 
fifty miles from Santa, and twenty from the 
place where we should have arrived ere this 
time if conducted faithfully on the way. 

We had yet an hour's sun when the guide 
confessed that he had no longer any hope of 
finding the road by which we could be 
extricated from our present difficulty, but 
that if it were possible to make our way 
through the narrow overgrown strip that 
separated us from the opposite desert he 
could find his way. Without food or water 
since our departure from Guadalupe, and 
our horses much jaded, it seemed but a 
desperate alternative to retrace our steps 
over the deep sands for fifty miles. We 
concluded to make the effort of cutting our 
way through, and with a jack knife and a 
heavy sabre laboured hard to accomplish 
it before dark. With tattered clothes, and 
hands and faces streaming with blood, we 
so far succeeded that by taking everything 
from the horses we were enabled to lead them 



IN THE MIDST OF THE ANDES 83 

through and entered upon the sands just in 
the dusk of the evening. In high spirits, 
rejoicing in our success, we mounted and 
bade the guide lead the way. With an 
assumed confidence, by which we were at 
first deceived, he conducted us for an hour 
or two in winding mazes through the sand, 
and not until our impatience with his igno- 
rance and obstinacy was raised to the highest 
pitch did he exclaim '^Estoy perdido!" 

Though a sentiment of despair came over 
us for a moment as the guide made the 
distressing acknowledgment, it was never- 
theless a relief from the painful suspense 
we had been kept in for so long a time. No 
choice was now left to us. We returned to 
the edge of the thicket, where, tying our 
horses to the branches of the Algaroha, we 
threw ourselves upon the sand and slept 
until morning. I will not dwell minutely 
upon this most unpleasant of all journeys. 
We retraced our steps to Guadalupe, and 
arrived there on the following evening, our 
horses and ourselves completely broken 
down. On the road I had the good fortune 
to find a small lime, and such was the excess 
of our sufferings that my gratification was 
unbounded. It was a week before we were 
well enough to renew the attempt to pass 



84 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

over this extensive desert. A new guide 
was more successful and in three days we 
arrived safely at Truxillo. 

The writing of this narrative having been 
suggested alone by a wish to develop some- 
thing of the character of General Bolivar, I 
have passed over the incidents subsequent 
to my departure from his headquarters 
with a brevity due to the reader's patience 
after following the narrative so far over a 
country which, though filled with novelty 
and striking characteristics to the traveller, 
is yet wanting in the pervading interest that 
is calculated to amuse the curious or idle 
reader in a distant clime. Such as it is, 
the narrator commends it to an indulgent 
perusal, and whilst he claims no credit what- 
ever for its production, he hopes it may 
pass without censure/' 



CHAPTER VI 

VARIOUS SERVICES 

From 1830 to 1844, though constantly 
employed at sea, Paulding's life was com- 
paratively uneventful. For two years he 
served in the Mediterranean as first Ueu- 
tenant of the frigate Constitution, and in 
the same waters commanded the schooner 
Shark, of twelve guns, from 1834 to 1837. 

In February of 1837 he reached the rank 
of commander and commanded the sloop 
of war Levant, making a cruise in the West 
Indies. In 1841, for the first time in thirty 
years' service, he was given shore duty as 
executive officer of the New York Navy 
Yard under Commodore James Renshaw. 
In 1844 he was promoted captain and, in 
command of the sloop of war Vincennes, 
twenty guns, was sent to the East Indies in 
the squadron of Commodore James Biddle, 
U. S. frigate Columbus, This cruise, although 
full of interest in his visits to the then little 
known ports of China, was replete with 

85 



86 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

anxiety and was the most dismal of his 
life. 

As condensed water was not known in 
those days, at times much risk was involved 
in taking water for the ship's use, and from 
a supply of impure water, taken on the coast 
of China, dysentery broke out among the 
crew, and a large number of the ship's 
company succumbed to the disease. Spared 
himself, Paulding's humane and generous 
heart was a constant prey to the keenest 
emotions witnessing the agonies he was 
powerless to reUeve. He also was attacked 
by ophthalmia and was in danger of quite 
losing his sight. Owing to the return of 
Commodore Biddle to the United States 
on the frigate Columbus, Paulding was 
left in command of the Asiatic station, a 
duty he performed as he had ever performed 
all his duties, with zeal, discretion, and 
entire devotion to his country's interest. 
At that time the ports of Japan were closed 
to the commerce of other nations and the 
natives looked askance at a boat from the 
Vincennes when an attempt was made to 
open communication with them. One boat- 
man was with difficulty persuaded to sell his 
hat, a curious affair of bamboo and leaves, 
which was long regarded as a rare curiosity. 



VARIOUS SERVICES 87 

At the end of the cruise Paulding brought 
his ship home. 

What a change has been wrought in sixty- 
years! As the cable and fast and regular 
lines of mail steamers keep us in daily touch 
with the Orient, it is difficult nowadays to 
realize the hardships of life on a sailing 
vessel sixty years ago, when mails were 
delayed for months, and when Jack's ration 
of salt meat and hardtack was not modified 
by the various canned and dessicated foods 
now so common. 

Much worn with the many anxieties and 
hardships he had endured, the Captain of 
the Vincennes landed from his boat at the 
quarantine, Staten Island, his heart the prey 
of the keenest anxiety. Many months had 
elapsed since the receipt of letters from 
home, and brave as he was in the face of 
danger, he said the walk from the landing to 
the house of a friend, where he knew he 
should have tidings of his family, seemed 
interminable and he had to pass and repass 
the house several times before he dared 
knock at the door and ask for news. Hap- 
pily all was well, and later on the letters that 
would have assured him of it came back 
from various ports. 

Journals and letters written at this time, 



88 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

full of interest, were burned when the home 
at Huntington was destroyed by fire. A 
well earned rest at home on his ''Peach 
Blossom" farm with the devoted wife and 
children soon restored his health and spirits, 
and in August, 1848, he was ordered to 
command the frigate St. Lawrence, carrying 
480 men. The subjoined order indicates 
what the special service was to be. 

Navy Department, August 26th, 1848. 

Sir: So soon as the United States frigate St. Law- 
rence, under your command, is, in all respects, ready 
for sea, you will proceed to the North Sea, touching at 
Southampton if necessary for refreslmient of the crew, 
or supplies of provisions. I regret that the season is 
so far advanced that it is not probable that it will be 
practicable for you to enter the Baltic Sea and render 
any valuable service during the present year before the 
navigation will be obstructed or closed by ice. 

You will touch at Bremerhaven, and communicate 
your arrival to the American Minister at Berlin. You 
wiU extend your cruise as much farther north as in 
your judgment the pubhc interests may require and the 
state of the na\igation may permit. If there is a state 
of war it will be your duty to give due protection to 
American citizens and their property, and to this end 
you will visit any commercial points of importance 
which may be blockaded. In your intercourse with 
the belligerents you will bear in mind that it is the 
pohcy of the United States to observe a strict neu- 
trality in regard to nations at war which are in amity 
with us. 



VARIOUS SERVICES 89 

As the season advances you will proceed to the south 
of Europe and touch at such points between Cape 
Finisterre and Cadiz at which, in your judgment, your 
presence may be most advantageous to the interests of 
American commerce. 

At Lisbon you will communicate with the Charge 
d'affaires to Portugal, and, informing him of your 
instructions, receive from him suggestions as to the 
length of time you will remain in the Tagus, When 
the spring opens, you will return to the north and pro- 
ceed as far as Cronstadt. 

You will consider yourself on detached special service 
until further orders from the department. 

When at Bremen, if the kingdom of Prussia is not 
engaged in war, you will receive on board and put to 
duty, as midshipmen, four young Prussian officers, who 
may be detailed for that purpose. You will inform 
Mr. Donelson of this part of your instructions, and 
through him the officers will be named to you. His 
excellency the Prussian Minister at Washington has 
requested that this privilege may be extended, and it 
is cheerfully accorded, if not inconsistent with our 
neutrality, as well in acknowledgment of the distin- 
guished comphment which it imphes to our Navy, 
as in our sincere desire to see the efforts of Prussia 
to make an effective naval establislnnent crowned 
with success. 

You will be pleased to inform the department of the 
events of your cruise as often as practicable, and 
your communications should be regularly numbered, 
and duplicates forwarded by the earliest opportunities, 
to be found after the originals shall have been trans- 
mitted. 

With best wishes for a pleasant cruise, and for the 



90 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

good health of yourself, officers, and crew, and a safe 
return to your country and friends, I am. 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
J. Y. Mason, 

Secretary of the Navy. 

Captain Hiram Paulding, 

Commanding United States Frigate 
St. Lawrence, Norfolk. 

This diplomatic cruise was probably the 
most interesting of his life. At this time all 
Europe was more or less in commotion. 
The French Revolution and the events of 
1798 had stirred political feeling to the depths. 
Where France had led, Italy and Austria, 
with all the nationalities involved, must fol- 
low. The map of Europe was changing. 
No American man-of-war had been seen 
in the North Sea. No social or politi- 
cal intercourse had been attempted with 
Great Britain, and at this juncture it was 
important that a man of discretion and 
tact should command the vessel that car- 
ried our flag to foreign ports. The man to 
whom was entrusted the command of the 
St. Lawrence was known to Mr. John Y. 
Mason. When, a boy of scarcely seventeen, 
a midshipman in service on Lake Cham- 
plain, he was sent in face of a murderous 



VARIOUS SERVICES 91 

fire from the enemy to rescue a gunboat 
drifting helplessly into the enemy's hands, he 
succeeded in bringing it to a place of safety. 
From that time, whether overcoming the 
resistance of winds and waves or in braving 
and turning the animosities of men, his 
calm good sense prevailed and won for him 
confidence and respect. The sailor's skill, 
courage, and resourceful judgment were 
equaled by his modesty. Perhaps few men 
would have declined the honor offered him 
when the Prussians desired him to head 
their new Navy. Although his experience 
of many years was at their service, his one 
desire was to give honor to his country's 
flag and to acquit himself satisfactorily as 
an American officer. 

Our Government was desirous of aiding 
the Germanic Confederation to establish a 
Navy, and while at Bremerhaven several 
young Prussians were received on board 
the St. Lawrence to be instructed in nau- 
tical science. Captain Paulding was 
invited by the King of Prussia to visit 
Berlin, and he was handsomely entertained 
at the Royal Palace. Accompanying Prince 
Adalbert, the Admiral of Germany, to 
Frankfort-on-the-Main, he was presented to 
the members of the German Parliament, 



92 LIFE OF HI^AM PAULDING 

who received him with great enthusiasm 
and tendered him a high command in the 
German service, which he felt it incumbent 
upon him to dechne. 

It is not at all improbable that the German 
Navy of to-day owes much of its efficiency 
to the ideas instilled by this American 
sailor into the mind of Prince Adalbert, who 
was an intelligent and progressive man.^ 

Among those Paulding entertained aboard 
ship were the municipal authorities of 
Southampton, the Duke of Oldenburg at 
Bremerhaven, the Senate of Bremen, the 
Queen of Greece, deputations from Prussia, 
from Denmark, and from Sweden. 

After a short stay at Southampton, the 
St. Lawrence went to Bremerhaven. On 
the 7th of October a deputation from the 
Senate of Bremen waited upon them to 
express their satisfaction at the visit of the 
American man-of-war, and the Amtman, 
or Chief Justice, came to welcome them. 
Bremen being four miles from the coast and 
the Weser not being navigable for vessels 
of heavy draft like the St. Lawrence, they 

^Heinrich Wilhelm Adalbert, cousin german of Wil- 
liam I., bom in 1811, entered the Army in his youth and 
became Lieutenant-General. In 1848 he was made 
Admiral and Commander-in-chief of the German Navy. 
Died, 1873. 



VARIOUS SERVICES 93 

anchored at Bremerhaven, the *S^. Lawrence 
being the first American man-of-war to 
visit them, and the largest ship that had 
ever come to the anchorage. Extracts from 
the Captain's journal give some interesting 
data of the visit to Germany. 

October 7, 1848. 

"The Duke of Oldenburg sent me word that he 
desired to visit me, that his steamer was at our ser- 
vice, and that the officers and crew could go in her to 
Bremen without charge. At six in the morning a 
steamer came down, and with as many as a dozen 
officers I left for Bremen. The American Vice-consul, 
Mr. H. W. Bohme, had ridden all night bringing with 
him an invitation from the Senate of Bremen, which we 
accepted, for us to visit the city. Bremen contains 
60,000 inhabitants. It is one of the independent 
Hanseatic towns, and is a flourisliing commercial city. 
It is governed by a Senate consisting of twenty-four 
members who were elected for life until a recent change 
by revolution. The Senate consists of the most wealthy 
inhabitants. There are two classes: the senior, who 
receive $3000, Rix dollars (about $2400 Spanish), and 
who are not allowed to engage in commerce. The 
other class are merchants and receive $2000. A 
committee waited on us, asking us to fix a day when 
we would dine with them. 

"That evening we visited the famous cellar that 
extends from under the Senate House across the 
street for a considerable distance — one of the caslvs 
containing 7000 gallons — and where the wines belonging 
to the Senate have been deposited for two hundred and 



94 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

fifty years, the State owning the vineyards. After 
dinner we took carriages and visited the church of St. 
Paul, an immense building, where among other interest- 
ing objects we saw in a vault, or rather a room level 
with the ground, the remains of a number of persons, 
some of whom have lain there for two hundred years, 
preserved in a most extraordinary manner by some- 
thing in the atmosphere of the place." 

At a later date: 

Senate Dinner 

"We were soon at the Club-house, and greeted cor- 
dially by the Senate and by one hundred and fifty of 
the gentlemen in Bremen. After an introduction to 
the various personages, most of whom spoke English, 
we were ushered into the dining-room, where a mag- 
nificent entertainment had been prepared. Toasts to 
the Captain of the St. Laiorence, the President of the 
United States, and the Secretary of our Navy were all 
drunk with many hearty cheers, and viands of the 
choicest kind went round with toasts and speeches all 
of patriotism and good feehng toward our country 
and for us. . . . 

"From the time of our arrival the ship has been 
crowded with visitors. It was estimated that two 
thousand visited the ship in one day. . . . 

"On Monday we received the 'Civic Guard of 
Bremen,' consisting of respectable people of every class 
and profession, who are considered the safeguard and 
protectors of property and the laws. They came in a 
steamer provided with a fine band, and addressed me 
in a long speech of welcome. I repUed, and as the 
first gun of thirteen went off, their band struck up 



VARIOUS SERVICES 95 

*Hail, Columbia!' It altogether had a pretty effect — 
the corps consisting of a hundred and fifty fine looking 
fellows in uniform, wearing a handsome blue blouse 
and round white hat with a cockade of national colors 
— black, red, and gold. Previous to this, however, I 
had received a deputation from the central Govern- 
ment at Frankfort — a captain and major of the 
Army and some other gentlemen, deputies to the 
Confederation Congress. They came the evening 
previous in a man-of-war steamer. On board the 
steamer were three English captains in the Hamburg 
Navy, or rather, of ships fitted out by Hamburg and 
now sold to the central Government. When I had 
obtained a central flag, for which I had to send to 
Bremerhaven, the Committee came on board in a boat 
I sent for them. I then hoisted the central flag and 
saluted with twenty-one guns. The deputation walked 
round the ship and partook of some refreshment and 
took their leave. They proceeded to the Hanoverian 
Government at Bremerhaven and there commanded 
the commanding officer to hoist the central German 
flag and salute it. The King of Hanover has been 
one of the last to submit to the political change now 
going on in Germany." 

Tuesday, 17th. 

"The Archduke of Oldenburg came in a steamer 
accompanied by five ladies of the court. We sent our 
boats to the steamer for them, and I received the 
Prince, a young man of twenty-two, at the gangway. 
He was dressed in military uniform, and, as he landed 
on the deck, asked, with a smile, in good English, if I 
would allow him to see my ship. When the party 
were on board, and they were quite a numerous one, 



96 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

as he was attended by his aides and others, we manned 
the yards and saluted with twenty-one guns. After 
visiting every part of the ship I took them to the cabin, 
where they partook of refreshment and at two or three 
o'clock left the ship." 

Friday, 20th. 

"A gentleman, Major Von Wangenheim, came 
recommended by our Legation at Berhn, on the part 
of the Prussian Government, to examine the con- 
struction, armament, materiel, organization, etc., of the 
ship. We went round with him through every part of 
the ship, exhibited and explained the watch, quarter, 
and station bills, etc., etc., and, after remaining for an 
hour or two, he left us with many thanks for courtesy 
and attention. 

" Six of our midshipmen went to Oldenburg. Were 
much gratified by their kind reception by the Grand 
Duke, who had sent for them. They were entertained 
at a ball and at dinner." 

25th October. 
"As soon as my cold passed off, I left for Berlin and 
Frankfort, having been invited by Mr. Donelson to 
visit him on business — also by "Biilow," minister for 
foreign affairs in Berlin, to visit Frankfort, where the 
general congress of Germany is now in session. The 
invitation from *'Bulow" was on the part of Prince 
Adalbert, who is considered the patron of the Navy of 
Germany (that is to be), who pays me the compliment 
to desire to consult me about the establishment of the 
German Navy. Our friend and countryman, Mr. 
Marcus Dunkeim, with an invaluable servant, Auguste, 
volunteered to accompany me at his own expense, and 
Mr. Francis Tecklenborg, of Bremen, speaking good 



VARIOUS SERVICES 97 

English, also made up his mind to be of our company. 
We remained over night at Hanover. I had a card 
from Mr. Wieburg, one of the King's ministers. We 
had leisure, before leaving in the morning, to walk about 
the city and see much of interest. The King is more 
than eighty — broken by years and infirmity. We 
arrived in the beautiful city of Berlin about eleven, 
took a droschke and drove to the Hotel d'Angleterre, 
passing through the Brandenburg gate, and after a 
quiet supper retired to excellent apartments. In the 
morning I sent a card to Mr. Donelson informing him 
of my arrival, and asking him when it would be con- 
venient for him to receive us. He replied, at eleven; 
and we occupied the rest of the day in visiting the many 
places of interest." 

Then comes a long description of the 
sights of interest in BerHn — seeing galleries 
of painting, statuary, park and pleasure 
grounds, etc. 

"We dined with our Minister at 4 p.m. At his 
table we met the Earl of Westmoreland, British 
Minister, the Minister of France, of Saxony, of Austria, 
and Major Von Wangenheim, Under Secretary of War, 
one of the gentlemen who had by authority visited my 
ship. The ministers of the King were most of them 
attending the debate of the Assembly, and could not 
be present at the dinner. In the morning we had 
visited the Assembly, in full uniform; cards of admission 
had been obtained, but we passed in without question. 
Late in the evening I received a note from Mr. Donelson 
saying that we were invited to visit the King at Potsdam 
on the following morning at ten, and caUing upon us 



98 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

to be at his house in time to take the nine o'clock train. 
We were punctual to the time, and, arriving at the 
depot at Potsdam, found two royal carriages with 
servants in livery in waiting for us, and a footman 
ready to conduct us to the carriages. We ahghted at 
the palace of "Sans Souci," a little out of Potsdam, and 
were received by one of the King's chamberlains in a 
plain military uniform. We threw our cloaks aside 
and were conducted to a small room richly hung with 
choice paintings. 

" It was nearly half an hour before His Majesty made 

his appearance, ushered in by Count . His 

chamberlain bowed to us and we were presented to 
His Majesty one by one, standing ranged in a semi- 
circle. He addressed a few civil words to each of us, 
and then turned to me a second time, saying, 'I am 
happy of the pleasure of your acquaintance.' This 
was said after having remarked upon my uniform, 
saying he liked it, that it was a dress he was always 
pleased with, and asked whether it was not the old 
English naval uniform. 

" I said to His Majesty that I was pleased he should 
like my uniform, and that I had four of his subjects on 
board the St. Lawrence in that imiform, whom I hoped 
to return to His Majesty as good officers. After a httle 
conversation he bowed and retired. When Mr. 
Donelson came from the King he found us straying 
through a gallery of paintings, attended by the Superin- 
tendent of the King's grounds. His Majesty is a man 
of upward of forty, with an amiable but by no means 
striking face, of moderate stature, rather full-faced, and 
dressed in a plain, military uniform. He wore a 
decoration on his breast. 

"We were conducted through the King's gardens 



VARIOUS SERVICES 99 

and through his pleasure-grounds, studded with many 
varieties of trees and shrubs, and refreshed with several 
beautiful fountains; among other objects of curiosity 
we were shown a building said to be a facsimile of one 
recently excavated at Pompeii. Thence we were driven 
to the palace of Frederick the Great, a massive pile 
emiched with paintings, gildings, crystal chandeliers, 
and I know not what. One vast room had the pillars 
covered with precious stones of all kinds. 

"About 2 P.M. we returned to the city of Potsdam, 
and to a different palace from that where we had seen 
the King in the morning. Here we alighted and were 
received by the Baron Humboldt, now eighty years of 
age, an interesting remnant of humanity and one of 
the King's counselors. After showing us a small 
room with a round table, that was arranged to go up 
and down through the floor, and where the great 
Frederick sometimes dined privately with a friend, we 
were conducted to a Royal dejeuner. The King's 
chamberlain and one or two of the King's court were 
there, but we understood that we were deprived of His 
Majesty's presence by an unexpected Cabinet meeting. 
I sat on Baron Humboldt's left. He inquired of many 
people he had known in the United States and who had 
passed from the stage of life. We enjoyed an excellent 
repast with abundance of choice wines, and before 
leaving the table, drank, standing, the King's health, 
remembering his hospitality. We spent the evening 
with Mr. Donelson, who spoke to me about the German 
Navy, suggesting that it might suit me to command it, 
which I disposed of with a passing remark. He more 
than once reiterated the suggestion, saying the Prince 
Adalbert would not be given military rank, and that 
the officer from the American Navy who should be 



100 LIFE OF HI^AM PAULDING 

placed at its head would be rather a ministerial than an 
active, professional officer. I said I could name others 
more suited to the office than myself, and gave many 
reasons why it v/ould not suit me, but he to the last 
seemed to feel a strong desire that I should consent and, 
if the Frankfort Government would arrange the mone- 
tary matter to suit me, proposed that I should com- 
municate with him, and he would attend to all the rest. 
His son, John, is anxious to enter our Navj^, and I gave 
his father a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, recom- 
mending him in strong terms, for he is a fine youth. 

"We got to Dresden at four in the afternoon and 
took lodgings at the Hotel de Saxe. I sent my card 
by Auguste to the Minister of State, Staats-minister 
Pfordten. On the following day, ha\ing received two 
cards from the Minister of State of Saxony (Dresden 
being the capital of that kingdom) we called on him in 
full uniform, conveyed by two handsome carriages. 
He received us with cordiality, and regretted that we 
would not remain longer than the following day, as he 
wished us to dine with him. We had quite a long 
interview, during wiiich he spoke freely of the political 
changes going on in Germany, said that Saxony desired 
the confederation of Germany, that they wished to 
cultivate the most friendly relations with the United 
States, and the two nations must always be on friendly 
terms, as there were no rival interests. 

'*In the course of the day visited many points of 
interest, seeing the finest gallery of paintings in Europe 
and works of art of countless value — jewels, splendid 
collection of armor of kings, knights, and gentlemen 
on foot and on horseback. And here are Napoleon's 
boots and slippers that he wore at the battle of No- 
Matter- Where, and a great many curious things in the 



VARIOUS SERVICES 101 

way of arms at different periods. In the morning of 
October 26th left Dresden for Frankfort-on-the-Main, 
one of the old Hanseatic cities. It snowed before we 
arrived at Gotha, where we took post carriages for 
Frankfort. Our postilion stopped to show us the 
prison-house of Luther, where, to preserve him, the 
King of Saxony had sent to make him prisoner, and 
placed him where his enemies should be ignorant of his 
existence. 

" In passing through Hesse we passed through many 
towns of considerable size, evidently old, from the 
dilapidated state of many of the buildings, and the 
quaint odd style of architecture, the oddly shaped 
shingles, the antiquated tiles, and, above all, the win- 
dows with innumerable small panes of glass, some 
stained of different colors. In looking in the manly 
faces of the Hessians I could not but dwell on the 
recollection of the cruelties their sires, sold to England 
by their Prince, had, in our struggle for freedom, 
inflicted on my country. The women, subjected to the 
most laborious occupations, coarse, hard-featured, and 
unfeminine in look, seemed the personification of the 
mothers of a race of men whose sinews might be 
employed in riveting the chains of a generous people 
who were pouring out their blood like water in a struggle 
for freedom. But again we must look on the other 
side of the picture. They, too, are God's creatures, 
and, if blessed with the light of knowledge, cheered by 
the appropriate pursuit of material life, blessing and 
blessed in the proper sphere of wife, mother, and 
daughter, they, too, might bear the lineaments of love- 
inspiring beauty, and nurse at the domestic hearth 
and in the lap of liberty the sons of freedom. But 
God's will be done. The ways of Omnipotence are 



102 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

mysterious, and oui* mental vision is blind to His won- 
drous wisdom. Who knows but the spark of freedom 
now intensely burning in the German heart was 
struck from the collision of the oppressing and the 
oppressed, when near a century ago my gallant country- 
men forever cemented the bond of a fraternity that 
gave a land to the free and a home to the brave, and 
from that time has been to the oppressors of the earth 
like the glaring of a baleful tomb-fire, but to other sons 
of men a star of transcendent brightness and beauty, 
cheering them on to the high destiny allotted by our 
Maker. 

"It was late in the evening of November when we 
arrived at Frankfort. It is the residence of the Roth- 
schilds and many other bankers, and has for many 
years been the money-changing city of Europe. In 
most of the small towns through which we had passed 
in the last two days we saw sometimes one, sometimes 
two ^'liberty poles" newly erected, and every one 
spoke his political sentiments wdthout reserve, the less 
remarkable, perhaps, because all seemed to think the 
same. When once established in our quarters in the 
Hotel de Russe, I sent my card and a letter of introduc- 
tion to the Prince Adalbert^ of Prussia, who was at 
lodgings under the same roof, and to several ministers 
and members of the German Parliament, and had 
many calls from interesting and distinguished men. 

" Early in the morning I received a message from the 
Aide to Prince Adalbert that he would give audience 
to my party at eleven, and soon after, an invitation to 
dine at four. His Royal Highness received us standing, 
and after a short conversation the party retired, the 

^Heinrich Wilhelm Adalbert, cousin german of Wil- 
helm I. of Germany. 



VARIOUS SERVICES 103 

Prince desiring that I would remain with him for a 
short time. Our conversation was upon naval affairs, 
and continued for an hour, he asking me a great many 
questions about ships, the German harbors, etc. For 
a short time we stood by the window, and my uniform 
there with the Prince attracted so large a crowd on 
the opposite side of the street that we withdrew from 
the window. After leaving the Prince we went to the 
German Parliament and listened to two speeches on 
the reorganization of the Army. Everjrthing was con- 
ducted in an orderly manner. I had intended to leave 
on the following day, but found I could not do so and 
fully accomplish the business of my mission. The 
Naval Committee invited me to dine with them on the 
following day, and I accepted for myself and party. 

" At four we were in attendance at the table of Adal- 
bert. I was seated on his left and Minister Duckwitz 
on his right, and my party were distributed about the 
table with a few other guests who were military men. 
The Prince pledged me in wine and entertained me 
during dinner with conversation, most of which was 
about the Navy. The wine was passed for a short 
time after the dessert was placed on the table, when the 
guests rose and took their leave, with the exception of 
myself, whom the Prince engaged in conversation and 
desired I would remain with him. I did remain for an 
hour, and when I left, he invited me to call again at 
half -past seven. Our dinner was excellent and served 
in a most comfortable, pleasant manner. The Prince, 
as upon all occasions, was dressed in plain clothes and 
without any insignia of royalty. 

" At half-past seven I went to his room, and he 
received me cordially, taking me by the hand and 
helping me to a chair. After conversing for a while 



104 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

about ships and steamers, he laid on the table before 
me a written list of questions about naval matters 
and, putting them to me one after another, made 
his remarks in pencil as I replied. I found that 
I had all along differed from him in regard to 
the description of force best suited to the present 
wants of Germany, and he was as tenacious of 
his opinion as I was decidedly in favor of mine. 
Although Germany has no arsenals, no officers, nor any 
preparation whatever for the conamencement of a 
Navy, and although her ports on the North Sea are but 
poorly adapted to ships of a larger draught than cor- 
vettes, and the ports on the Baltic, though not very 
good, are frozen up most of the year, yet the Prince 
will cling to the opinion that Germany should commence 
her Navy with frigates as well as steamers and corvettes, 
and indulges the fond hope of a fleet of twenty sail of 
the line at no distant time. He has written a memoir 
on naval affairs, creditable enough for one who has had 
no opportunity to be supposed master of his subject, 
but at some variance with what will be found practi- 
cable. In theorizing, his zeal blinds his judgment to 
obstacles that wiU probably be found insurmountable, 
even at a distant day, and in the present state of Ger- 
many, and for its present wants, his theories sometimes 
amount to absurdities. I told him that although I 
was aware of differing so much from him in opinion, 
yet, in doing justice to the confidence he reposed in 
me, I must maintain mine. He thanked me and 
seemed quite satisfied, but by no means convinced. 
He next unrolled his charts of the North Sea and of the 
Baltic and placed them on the table and examined every 
river and every port, about all which he expressed his 
views and ehcited mine. It was nearly ten when, the 



VARIOUS SERVICES 105 

subject seeming to be pretty well exhausted, I took my 
leave. 

*' On the following day he sent for me again, and on 
going to his room he exhibited a number of written 
questions prepared by Minister Duckwitz and himself, 
and which they requested I would answer in writing. 
I begged him to read them and, greatly to my surprise, 
the first one was whether I advised that the central 
Government should purchase a steamer now building 
in England. I could, of course, know nothing of the 
vessel, and I learned from the Prince that neither he 
nor any one of the Government knew more about her 
than had been told probably by interested persons. 
I said to his Highness that, as I had before stated, I 
knew nothing of the vessel building and, having no 
experience in building steamers, I could not be supposed 
a competent judge; that in discussing the subject before, 
I had freely expressed my opinion and was prepared to 
do so again; that it did not involve professional expe- 
rience or judgment such as I might be supposed to have 
as a naval officer; that Minister Duckwitz and him- 
self and the Naval Committee could as well judge in 
the matter as myself, and I hoped His Royal Highness 
would not be disappointed in my saying that I respect- 
fully decUned to answer those questions in writing. 
He promptly rephed: ''I am not offended, I think you 
are right. And will you say the same to the Com- 
mittee ? " I replied in the affirmative, and he took me 
by the hand in leaving, and thanked me and regretted 
that he should have given me so much trouble. 

" The dinner with the ' Committee on Commerce and 
the Navy' was given in our hotel. At four we pre- 
sented ourselves in the anteroom, and were there 
received by a large party of gentlemen of the National 



106 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

Assembly. In a short time dinner was announced. 
The Prince Adalbert made his appearance and I was 
seated on his right, and on the left of Minister Duck- 
witz, the Minister of Commerce and the Navy. The 
gentlemen of my suite were distributed about the table. 
Om* company consisted of about fifty of the Ministers 
and Members of the National Assembly of the 'Right 
and Left.' At the head of the company the most con- 
spicuous personage was Von Gagern, the president. 
He is a man six feet ten or eleven, well proportioned, of 
rather dark complexion, and a fine manly face. The 
President of the Assembly is neither of the 'Right' 
nor 'Left,' but steers a medium course in the poUtics 
of the country, voting sometimes with one party and 
sometimes with the other. The President is elected 
monthly, and since the Assembly commenced its ses- 
sions in April last, Gagern has always been chosen. 

"The first toast that was given was to the success 
of the German Navy with a prince of the royal blood 
at the head of it. This met with an approving mur- 
mur, and the Prince Adalbert rose and made a short 
address, speaking sometimes in Enghsh and sometimes 
in German, concluding by an acknowledgment of his 
obligations to me, and saying: "Now, gentlemen, let 
us have acts and not words." After this a number of 
toasts were given and speeches made, aU more or less 
complimentary to our country and our Navy, and the 
greatest enthusiasm and good feeling toward us was 
evidently predominant. Twice I felt it necessary to 
respond to these toasts and addresses by a reply. It 
was by no means an agreeable exhibition of my powers 
of eloquence, for I felt that the assembled wisdom of 
Germany was attentive to what I said, and it was 
indeed a task that I would not have assumed volunta- 



VARIOUS SERVICES 107 

rily. Whether I acquitted myself tolerably or not, I 
will not venture to say, but I was encouraged by the 
thanks and salutations of many present, one of whom 
was Mr. Von Gagern, and they came from different 
parts of the table to strike their glasses with mine (a 
cordial German salutation). What I said I do not 
remember, but I had no preparation for such an essay 
as I had never been practised in familiar greetings at 
the social board. Every one's heart seemed light, and 
all tongues prompted to speak. 

"It then occurred to me that the Prince had at my 
last interview requested me to say to the Committee 
what I had said to him and, seeing no occasion so suit- 
able as this, I inquired whether I should then do so, 
and whether it would be of service to him. He 
answered in the affirmative, saying it would be of great 
service to him, and the glass rang with the tap of the 
knife, and I rose to a silent table. I went on at once 
and without hesitation to say that I had risen for the 
purpose of stating to the company the object of my visit 
to Frankfort, to acknowledge the compliment that had 
been paid me and my naval service, and to express the 
pleasure it had given me to communicate whatever 
information it had been in my power to give as a naval 
officer. I spoke of the difficulties that a nation must 
encounter in the establishment of a Navy, having 
neither ships nor officers, and that it had been my 
opinion that great care was necessary not to increase 
their force faster than it could be made effective. I 
spoke of small ships rather than large as being best 
adapted to their present wants; of the necessity of 
arsenals, materiel, the survey of their ports and rivers, 
and many other things connected with this subject. 
Lastly I discouraged the idea of purchasing vessels 



108 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

for purposes of war, that had not been built with that 
view, and how important it was, even if they contracted 
for the building of ships, that suitable persons should 
be appointed to superintend their building. When I 
had concluded, there was a loud murmur of applause, 
the Prince thanked me, and many people came from 
different parts of the table to strike their glasses with 
mine and thank me. Amongst them was President 
Von Gagern. 

" When the evening was well advanced and the com- 
pany had for some time been getting more and more 
excited, showing that all hearts were full of enthusiasm 
for our institutions, and that they felt the most un- 
bounded confidence in our friendship and sympathy, 
and that the pohtical feehng was breaking through the 
bounds of party spirit and party restraint, I rose to 
take my leave. Our hats and swords were soon found 
and the party broke up and crowds came around us 
expressing the friendship and good-will in manner and 
language that could not be mistaken . . . and in the 
midst of friendly compliment we took our leave." 

November. 
"We called on Minister Duckwitz and then on 
Burgomaster Smith and lastly on the Archduke John 
of Austria, now the quondam President of the German 
Confederation. His Imperial Highness had the day 
before sent us an invitation to dine with him on Friday 
(this was Wednesday) if we remained so long in Frank- 
fort; in a delicate and gentlemanly manner leaving it 
to our option. It was our purpose, and perhaps he 
had heard it stated, to leave on Friday if not Thursday 
morning. He received us with great kindness, spoke 
in civil terms to each of my party, was pleasant and 



VARIOUS SERVICES 109 

somewhat plaj^ul in language and look, and finally, 
when we were about to retire, said he was always happy 
to see and receive our countrymen. 

" It may be appropriate here to say that he is about 
sixty, somewhat bald, with an animated and intellectual 
face. His dress was quite plain and as a peculiarity 
he wore an old black handkerchief round his neck with- 
out showing his shirt collar. When the disturbance 
took place a month since, on which occasion some lives 
were lost, he was living in the country and it was thought 
necessary either for his own safety or the quiet of the 
populace that he should reside in the city. Carriages 
and guards were provided, but he refused to avail him- 
self of either, and with his wife on his arm walked into 
the house that had been provided for him. His mar- 
riage is spoken of as somewhat extraordinary. It seems 
that years ago he was traveling by post coach, and 
stopping at some town where he was to have a new 
postilion and horses, the postman was greatly embar- 
rassed as this arrival was unexpected. He had the gout 
so badly as to be confined to his room and his men were 
in the fields at a distance that did not admit of their 
return in time. The daughter, a buxom lass, feeling 
for her father's embarrassment, begged him to be at 
ease and she would arrange everything. At these 
establishments there is always a gay new suit of clothes 
kept for the postilion for gala days, and this suit the 
young woman put herself in, in the shortest possible 
time, after having harnessed with the aid of the pos- 
tilion just arrived. 

" She assisted His Imperial Highness into the carriage 
and, mounting the box, drove her four horses in a style 
that attracted the attention and excited the admiration 
of the Prince. His interest being excited, he noticed 



110 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

his gay postilion more than usually dressed and so 
youthful; condescended to address one who had once 
excited his attention, and to his surprise, from voice 
and manner found it was a maid. From that moment 
it seems, after learning the facts in the case, his spirit 
was subdued; the Prince confessed the power of the 
fair postilion over his heart and it was not long ere 
the proud house of Austria in the person of this Prince 
mingled its sympathies ^vith those of — if not a peasant 
— a post girl. Royalty disclaimed the degrading 
alliance and the Prince was banished from the court 
and for a time was as if forgotten. He was fond of 
rural life — it had ever been his passion — of strong 
mind and simple manners, the gentry of the country 
and the chase had greater charms for him than the 
society of the nobles and the pleasures and pastimes 
of the court. Time went on, Prince John Uved with 
but little notice of those allied to him, but happy in 
his retirement and with the prospect of an increasing 
family, and at a later period the lady PostiUon was 
made countess. 

" When the republican movement took place a year 
since and it was contemplated to cement the bond of 
union amongst the German States and a man suited 
to the time and occasion was wanted, there was but 
one voice, and that pronounced for Prince John of 
Austria." 

The journal gives a sketch of a sail on the 
Rhine and passing through Cologne, but 
as travelers have immortalized the beauty 
and interest of that famous river, we pass 
to the 22d of November, when the 



VARIOUS SERVICES 111 

St. Lawrence emerged from the Weser into 
the stormy North Sea, and on the 2d of 
December reached Southampton. From 
that time until the departure of the St. 
Lawrence for Lisbon early in January, the 
journal is filled with accounts of diplomatic 
visits, interchange of courtesies, and enter- 
tainments in which the English cousins 
surpassed themselves in extending a friendly 
welcome to the American frigate. 

A civic banquet and various balls were 
acknowledged by entertainments given by 
the officers of the St. Lawrence. This 
manifestation of friendly feeling, as the 
Captain says, "was doubly worthy of remem- 
brance as no man-of-war under the American 
flag had ever before ventured on the experiment 
of social intercourse with the people of any 
part of England.'^ 

Extracts from Paulding's journal may be 
of interest here. He writes: 

''Whilst in the Weser I received a letter from Mr. 
Croskey enclosing one from Mr. Brooks, who was then 
Mayor of Southampton. It was a reply to a letter 
from Mr. Croskey on the subject of our visiting South- 
ampton on our return from the North Sea. It held out 
encouragement to us to come, saying we would be 
received with a very kind welcome. Every faciUty 
for furnishing supplies of water and whatever we might 
want was promised." 



112 LIFE OF HtRAM PAULDING 

November 22d. 

"I was glad to get out of the Weser, although it was 
into the North Sea, a sea that has as bad a name at 
this, and at a more advanced season, as any other that 
I know. It has soundings everywhere, from thirty 
fathoms to less, and in moderate weather with adverse 
tides, a ship may anchor, but the sun is rarely seen at 
this season, and the weather is often so thick with rain 
and mist that scarcely anything can be seen. Then 
there is the island of Heligoland in your way, off the 
Weser and the Elbe, which in war may shut up these 
rivers with a small force, and which the English, under- 
standing its advantages, have appropriated to them- 
selves. 

" The wind continued fair for us until we had passed 
the Goodwin Sands, known as the grave of many a 
gallant seaman. They form a protection to the Downs 
to the eastward. With all the precaution of light- 
boats, ships are continually wrecked here. A few 
years since, a pilot was knighted for his unwearied 
efforts and gallant intrepidity in saving the lives of 
people wrecked on the Goodwin Sands. It is said he 
saved as many as a thousand hves, and died a few 
years since, upward of fifty. He is said to have been 
a tall, handsome man. The profession of saving 
the Hves of our fellow beings must be considered a 
noble calling." 

After a stormy trip of ten days the St. 
Lawrence reached the English coast and 
anchored off Southampton, and, finding him- 
self with a violent cold, Paulding sent the 
First Lieutenant, Mr. Hoff, to call with the 



VARIOUS SERVICES 113 

Consul on the Mayor, after having exchanged 
signals. Again I refer to the journal: 

"On Mr. Hoff's landing, the English flag on the pier 
head was hauled down and the American hoisted. He 
was met by the Mayor and Common Council and 
welcomed (they having the kindness to express regret 
at my indisposition), then taken in a carriage to the 
Mayor's villa and entertained with a handsome colla- 
tion." 

December 6th. 

"On Wednesday the Consul and Captain Johnson 
and Baron Von Gerolt, late minister from Prussia to 
the United States and now on his way home with his 
wife and children, came on board. We showed them 
round the ship, treated them to wine and cake and, when 
the Baron left, saluted him with seventeen guns, the 
German flag at the fore. He expressed himself to 
the consul much pleased. The Washington soon got 
under way for Bremen, with the Baron and family as 
passengers, and as they passed under our stern we gave 
them three cheers, and the band played 'Hail Colum- 
bia.' While the company were on board the band 
played 'The German Fatherland.' 

"In the evening I received a note from Mr. Croskey 
saying the Mayor would be on board the following day 
at twelve, with the town barge, his 'silver oar,' etc., 
the badge of oflice." 

October 9th, Saturday. 

"The weather was windy and rainy on the 7th and, 

after waiting until one or two, the Consul's boat came to 

bay that the visit would be deferred until a favorable 

change. On the 8th at 11 a.m. I heard from the Consul 



114 LIFE OF HfRAM PAULDING 

that the Mayor and Common Council would come 
to-day if the weather were good or not. My steward 
was sick and but a poor repast prepared. Mr. Francis, 
my secretary, gave me what assistance he could, and at 
1 P.M., preceded by the American Consul, Mr. Croskey, 
the town barge came alongside. First ascended the 
ladder beadles, dressed off in a very fine livery with 
three-cornered cocked hats trimmed off with lace, 
bearing silver batons surmounted by a silver crown 
and the silver oar symbolical of office; then came the 
Mayor of Southampton, the Town Clerk, the Sheriff, 
and the Common Council, presenting a formidable 
array of fine-looking Enghsh gentlemen. It was blow- 
ing and raining and I therefore considered the com- 
phment of their coming the greater. Being severally 
introduced and handed to the quarter-deck, the band 
struck up 'God Save the Queen,' and our salute of 
seventeen guns mingled their roar with the music. 

''This being ended, the Town Clerk, in behalf of the 
Mayor, asked leave to read from a roll of parchment 
he held in his hand a resolution passed by the Common 
Council at its meeting on the 6th. Thereupon he 
proceeded to read a resolution of welcome to th^e St. 
Lawrence in the Southampton River and an invitation 
to the Captain and officers to a civic banquet to be 
given by the authorities at the Audit House of the 
borough, and when the reading was over the parch- 
ment was handed to me. I acknowledged in behalf 
of the officers the distinguished compliment that was 
paid us by the authorities of Southampton, expressed 
our lively sense of the honor, and, although I was not 
then prepared to reply in suitable terms to the cordial 
greeting, the gentlemen of the city might rest assured 
of our reciprocal feefing of kindness and good-will. 



VARIOUS SERVICES 115 

They were then escorted round the decks and into the 
cabin, where they were entertained with a dejeuner and 
where they remained for some two hours making 
speeches and giving toasts, by which the utmost social 
and good feehng was expressed. Near sundown they 
were invited into the ward-room, where a table was 
prepared with wine, etc., and they remained there until 
nearly dark, then took their leave under another salute 
of seventeen guns, the salute of an admiral, which is 
the rank of a mayor." 

^'On the 12th, I had a visit from Lieutenant Drum- 
mond of the Royal Navy, who brought a note of invita- 
tion from his father for me to visit him at Cadland 
House. The son showed me his father's residence 
in sight, a large castle of a place. Mr. Drummond is 
one of the wealthiest gentlemen in this part of the 
country and married Lady Elizabeth, daughter of the 
Duke of . 

" In the evening I was informed that a gentleman 
wished to see me at the cabin door. To my great joy 
who should it be but my friend Hawes with his daughter 
Mary, a young woman of seventeen. They spent the 
night. Mr. Hoff escorted them on shore the next day 
and I prepared for the banquet to be given us this 
evening. I knew I had to respond to the toast when 
my health was drunk, and I knew also that reporters 
of the Times and of other newspapers would be there, 
and felt annoyed that I had not time to make suitable 
preparation. I had also to give the health of the 
Mayor, George Laishly, Esq., the ex-Mayor, and Com- 
mon Council with prefatory remarks. I had Httle 
time to prepare and what I wrote was in the midst of 
interruptions that were very vexatious. I tried to get 
by heart what I had to say, but found I could not, and 



116 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

gave it up in despair, knowing that if I could but 
imperfectly remember, I should not be able to speak 
surrounded and gazed at by a hundred people, some of 
them men of distinguished talent. I put my speeches 
in my pocket and went to the Consul's, where the 
officers, ten or twelve, were assembled. At six, the 
hour for the banquet, we took carriages, headed by 
our Consul, Mr. Croskey, and drove to the Audit Hall 
dressed in our full uniform. From the hall the street 
was hung across with flags and an immense crowd of 
both sexes was assembled, leaving only room for our 
carriages. A committee of the Common Council met 
us at the door, and we were shown to the Mayor's 
room, where already had assembled a very large com- 
pany. I was presented to many gentlemen, and an 
agreeable and cordial conversation was kept up until 
seven, when the Mayor led me into the banquet hall, 
followed by the other guests. 

"The Mayor, at the head of the table, seated me 
at his right and the officers were seated about the table 
in different parts, the band playing the ' Roast Beef of 
Old England.' Mr. Cockburn, M. P., Mr. Hutchins, 
ex-M. P., Captain Kiel of the Royal Navy, and a host of 
other distinguished gentlemen, besides the Common 
Council and ex-Common Council, were ranged round 
the table. Mr. Deacon, the town clerk, and Mr. 
Andrews, the sheriff, acted as vice-presidents. Turtle 
soup, turbot of immense size, venison, hare, turkeys, 
pheasants, partridges were among the good things 
before us. When the meats were removed, the dessert 
disposed of, an important-looking personage behind 
the Mayor's chair called out at the highest pitch of 
his voice: 'Gentlemen, attend; gentlemen, I claim 
silence for the Mayor ! ' When all was still the Mayor 



VARIOUS SERVICES 117 

rose and gave without remark, 'The health of Her 
Majesty, the Queen ! ' This was followed by three 
times three cheers and the band played 'God 
save the Queen,' and a salute of twenty-one guns (it 
was half -past nine) was fired. In a few moments 
afterward our Toast-master, elevated on a platform 
behind the Mayor, called out again in the same manner, 
claiming silence for the Mayor, and His Honor rose and 
gave, 'The President of the United States ! ' This was 
also drunk with three cheers, the band playing 'Hail, 
Columbia, ' and a salute of twenty-one guns was fired. 
Then the Queen Dowager and the rest of the royal fam- 
ily. Then the Toast-master commanded silence for the 
Mayor and he rose and said: 'Gentlemen, I am now 
going to give you a toast that I know will be drunk with 
hearty good-will and with enthusiasm. This, gentle- 
men, is the toast, this gentlemen, is the toast of the evening. 
He went on with a most eloquent address complimenting 
us in very high terms and saying all that could be 
supposed acceptable or agreeable to us, holding forth 
for half an hour or more. He then gave, 'Captain 
Paulding and the officers of the St. Lawrence J It 
was drunk with three times three, the band playing the 
'Star Spangled Banner.' In this manner speeches 
and toasts were made and given until after two in 
the morning. The utmost harmony and good-will 
prevailed throughout the evening. 

"On the following evening, December 14th, we went 
to the county ball. Quite a large nmnber of the 
young officers were there and about two hundred 
ladies and gentlemen, the aristocracy and gentry of 
Southampton and the country round. I found Sir 
John Sinclair here, a captain in the Navy, to whom I 
was introduced by Peter Dixon (master of ceremonies). 



118 LIFE OF HIICAM PAULDING 

Sir John introduced me to Lady Sinclair and two 
daughters, and I afterwards was presented to Lady Riv- 
ers, Lady Butler, Lady Long, and their daughters, and 
many other ladies and gentlemen of distinction. Here I 
also made the acquaintance of Captain Breton, who 
invited me to dine on the following day, and his daugh- 
ter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Hohway, who in- 
vited me to a ball on the 9th of January. I had but 
little rest. We did not get home from the ball until 
three in the morning, and when I arrived on board I 
found I had many invitations to reply to, all of which 
I declined. 

" On Monday I landed at Hythe and, taking a fly, 
drove to the mansion of Mr. Drummond, four miles, 
a large place with magnificent grounds in the highest 
possible cultivation and kept in the neatest order. Mr. 
Drummond and his son were both out hunting and I 
left my card. On the following day young Drummond, 
a lieutenant in the Navy, came on board with, hia 
sister, a young lady of twenty, accompanied by Mr. 
Cochran and Mr. Percival, two young gentlemen. He 
expressed regret on the part of his father and for himself 
that they were absent, and both he and his sister several 
times repeated an invitation that I would come and 
spend some days with them. Mr. Drummond, the 
elder, married a daughter of the Duke of Rutland. 
After walking over the ship I treated my guests to 
champagne and apples. 

" In the evening I dined with Mr. Borrett, the per- 
sonal friend of Admiral Dimdas, first lord of the 
admiralty. We had an elegant dinner, about fifteen 
ladies and gentlemen, and in the evening until 4 a.m. 
a ball, a number of young ladies having assembled to 
meet the young ofiicers of the St. Lawrence. It was 



VARIOUS SERVICES 119 

altogether a delightful affair. The officers are almost 
daily dining with some gentleman, and nothing can 
be kinder than the generous and welcome manner in 
which they are received and entertained." 

December 20th. 
"To-day we commenced issuing our cards of invita- 
tion for a ball to be given by the Captain and officers 
of the St. Lawrence on the 26th day of December, on 
board. On Thursday the 21st we dined with our 
consul, Mr. J. R. Croskey, Esq., at the Dolphin Hotel. 
Seventy gentlemen sat down at the table, and a mag- 
nificent entertainment was prepared. The utmost 
harmony and good feeling prevailed and everything 
went on charmingly. Of the company, my old friend 
Admiral Douglas was there, and the officer next in 
distinction was Sir John Gordon Sinclair, a captain in 
the Royal Navy and a fine fellow. On the next even- 
ing I dined with Mr. Allen and had a charming party 
of gentlemen and ladies. Mr. Edwards, the collector 
of customs, who sat by me, said, without meaning any 
compHment, we had 'really gained the hearts of 
everybody.' " 

I pass over the account of many other 
delightful entertainments and glance at the 
account of the St. Lawrence ball. 

"From the 23d we commenced in earnest to get the 
ship ready for the intended ball on the 26th, and 
all from the First Lieutenant to the messenger boys 
seemed interested in what was going on. On Monday, 
which was Christmas, it rained and our decks got wet, 
although covered with awnings and well enclosed. 



120 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

It was quite a sad and sorry scene, for the flags and 
evergreens and all the beautiful and fanciful parapher- 
nalia, such as sailors alone can prepare, were dripping, 
and our ship might be compared to a bride in tears. 
We began to fear for our success, but still hoped for a 
favorable change in wind and weather. The morning 
of the ball came. At 2 a.m. it was starlight, at four it 
was raining and blowing from the southwest, a stormy- 
quarter. In the morning the decks were running with 
water and it seemed impossible that our lady guests 
could come without a self-sacrificing spirit such as we 
had not reason to expect, and if they came it would be 
at the risk, if not the sacrifice of health. In the rain 
and wind I sent Mr. Francis to Mr. Croskey to know 
what was to be done, and he replied, 'Have it on shore.' 
No time was to be lost and we accordingly stripped the 
bride of her gay attire and prepared for a less gay 
second bridal at the Archery rooms on shore at South- 
ampton. Placards were posted and every means 
taken to give information, and it was well understood 
before the hour of seven arrived. 

"I landed, and at seven, having first visited the 
rooms, escorted Mrs. Croskey, the wife of the American 
Consul, to the ball. We arrived at half -past seven and 
the company commenced assembling. The ballroom 
was dressed in flags with mirrors and pictures and all 
looked well. The supper room was set to accommodate 
two himdred, and a magnificent repast prepared. The 
card room was also prepared and everything seemed to 
be in readiness, the music, our own band, being in their 
place. More than a dozen of the petty officers were 
on shore, including the orderly-sergeant and a corporal. 
My steward and Ralph Lawrence were sent to take 
care of and give out the wines and liquors. It is enough 



VARIOUS SERVICES 121 

to say of Ralph that he got drunk at supper, said he was 
a Virginian, abused all Englishmen, and wanted to fight. 

"At ten o'clock the ballroom was crowded, there being 
more than three hundred of both sexes. It was a gay 
and beautiful scene and all went off delightfully, every- 
one seeming to think of nothing but enjoyment. At 
twelve I led Mrs. Croskey to supper, and, the signal 
being given, the company followed. When all the 
ladies and many of the gentlemen were seated, I rose 
and gave them a welcome too long to be repeated here 
and which was received with much applause. Nothing 
occurred to mar the pleasure of the company. I 
remained until five in the morning. After the ladies 
had left the supper room several gentlemen of distinction 
remained. A friend of Cobden said, 'Your country 
is the greatest in the world. We have no man in 
England equal to your rejected President. No man in 
England can produce such a state paper as his message 
to Congress.' Fearing he would be overheard and our 
harmony disturbed, I said to him we must not speak 
of this now, and the conversation was changed. 

"When our interchange of courtesies was all over, 
it seemed to me singularly remarkable that we should, 
in such numbers and under circumstances of con- 
viviaUty, have escaped the discussion of irritating sub- 
jects and that no harsh or irritating remarks had 
escaped anyone. It was a real fraternization. We 
found many very excellent people who treated us with 
the most liberal and elegant hospitahty and feel 
assured that we made a most favorable impression on 
the minds and hearts of the gentlemen and ladies." 

On January fifteenth he writes from Lis- 
bon: 



122 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

"We hoisted the Portuguese flag and saluted with 
twenty-one guns, which was returned from the castle. 
We then hoisted again the Portuguese flag for the 
Admiral and saluted with seventeen guns, which was 
returned. We then hoisted the EngUsh white ensign 
and saluted Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Napier's flag. 
After this I went in the gig and called on Admiral 
Napier, on board the three-decker St. Vincent. He and 
his Captain (Dacres) were both on shore. I left my 
card and went on shore to call on Mr. Hopkins, our 
charge. A young Portuguese gentleman assisted me to 
hire a calasse, a sort of chaise with two horses, one of 
which was between the shafts and the other was ridden 
by the driver in jack-boots. The horses were poor, 
with their tails tied up in knots, the shafts came near 
the horse's back, which was surmounted with a queer- 
looking saddle, about three feet high on the pommel. 

" Lisbon is built on steep hills that look as though it 
would take a good horse to surmount them, but our 
nags went off at a round pace up and down and I 
expected every moment to see some one run over and 
perhaps our horses plunge headlong. At last after trav- 
ersing several very steep hills we came on the top of a 
very high one to the house of our representative. 
The city of Lisbon is not attractive to the pedestrian. 
The surface drainage is in open gutters through the 
middle of the street. When one can gain the country a 
broad plateau is spread out before one, and the great 
aqueduct, imsurpassed by any in Europe, partly 
Roman, partly Gothic, is well worth seeing. The wines 
of the country are abundant and good." 

At Cadiz, where the St. Lawrence made a 
longer stay, the Commodore writes: 



VARIOUS SERVICES 123 

"We did not find an American flag flying in the 
harbor, . , . Cadiz is surrounded by a high wall on 
which is — or was — mounted its defenses. The wall is 
very thick and strong and in times past bristled with 
cannon, showing a front in all directions. Most of the 
cannon have been removed and some are lying without 
carriages. . . . Even the ssea-wall is becoming ruined 
and seems to be in harmonyV^th everything Spanish. 
The city is a city of palaces, beautiful from the sea, and 
more so in passing through the streets, yet it is said 
there is little wealth here and much of showy poverty." 

During the month the St. Lawrence re- 
mained there while some repairs were going 
on, he exchanged courtesies with the officials, 
was saddened by the changes he found in 
the once gay and beautiful city, and the ship 
returned to Lisbon, where he found himself 
in the midst of a pleasant official circle. 
Among them were officers of the British Navy, 
the Russian and Swedish ministers, the Pope's 
Nuncio, Lady Carohne Norton, the poetess, 
and Admiral Sir George Sartorius, who had 
for a time been acting as an admiral in the 
Portuguese Navy, and who had his home in 
what had formerly been a monastery, and 
on whose extensive estate quantities of wine 
were made, and oil-presses, too, were in 
evidence. He says the Pope's Nuncio was 
a " bright, Hvely fellow of thirty-five or 
forty, wore shorts and red stockings." 



124 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

In speaking of his visit to the palace of 
the King of Portugual, he says: 

"We took our places and awaited the King's 
approach. He first addressed some civil words to Mr. 
Hopkins, our consul, speaking English very well, and 
after a short conversation spoke to me, asking the name 
of my ship, if we found the Tagus a good anchorage, 
etc., and complimented the behavior of our men on 
hberty, contrasting them favorably with the men of 
Sir Charles Napier's ships. He soon tired, and bowed 
and turned to some one else, and I was glad of it, for 
whatever may be the ambition of other men I do not 
like conversing with a king. He is a German prince 
of Saxe-Coburg. He is tall, with a mild face, though 
it is covered with hair. His person is very good. He 
was dressed in plain black clothes. He is remarked 
for his personal civility, lifting his hat to every one that 
salutes him in the street. He has five or six children, 
the eldest a boy of eleven, heir to the throne when the 
Queen dies. The second son is nine or ten and devoted 
to the Navy. The boys behaved with great propriety. 
*' At this soiree was the Duke of Saldanha, the Duke of 
Terceira, Viscount de Castro, and the foreign ministers, 
besides many other gentlemen, numbering about fifty." 

In his letter of farewell to Admiral Sar- 
torius, in which he thanks him for a cask of 
his Burgundy, he says: 

"I am most truly thankful to you for your friendly 
attention, as well as for your sentiment of mutual good 
will between our common countries, in which, with all 
my heart, I most sincerely sympathize with you. 
Individually, and where my feelings and just apprecia- 



VARIOUS SERVICES 125 

tion of personal character are concerned, I know no 
difference of nativity between your country and mine. 
'' We feel that our energy and our virtuous impulses, 
even to the love of liberty, are derived from the mother 
that first nurtured and sent us into life. 'Jonathan,' 
although an unruly fellow in some things, will always 
be found tractable and in affectionate remembrance 
of paternal care when he finds the paternal brow un- 
clouded. The time indeed is not distant when the 
coldness and distrust with which many of our country- 
men may regard each other will pass away, and to this 
feeling a more intimate and familiar association is alone 
necessary, for our sympathies and opinions on the most 
important matters of social life are similar if not the 
same. There is no officer in the American Navy that 
does not contemplate with the pride of a kindred race 
the disinterested and benevolent heroism with which 
the Captain of the Malabar, after fruitless efforts to 
save the Missouri, periled his life to soothe and save 
an American officer from perishing in the flames of his 
burning ship. It is not to all of us, Admiral, that it is 
known that, while thus forgetful of yourself and all 
else but humanity and honor, a young and devoted 
wife, inspired by your own gallant spirit, was witnessing 
in silent admiration your heroism and your danger. 
In conclusion permit me to add to your toast and say, 
as caUing to remembrance our happy meeting here, 
somewhat as I have elsewhere said, 'Where such men 
are found, the women claim our adoration.' And now, 
Admiral, as a parting favor I beg you will come on 
board on Saturday and luncheon with us. I have 
invited Captain Seymour and some of our friends of 
the Legations to meet you. We can take a parting 
cup and say *God speed' whether we may or may not 



126 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

meet again. With my fervent wishes for your happi- 
ness and that of all beneath your roof, I am 

Faithfully yours, 

H. P. 

To Admiral Sir George R. Sartorius, Piedade." 

The St. Lawrence extended her cruise 
again to the north, visiting points on the 
shores of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, 
and again went to Southampton for mail 
and stores, being greeted everywhere with 
friendly hospitality. 

While in England he had the opportunity 
of meeting his old friend, Mr. Siday Hawes, 
visiting his home, and, being escorted by 
him to London, spent a day or so in sight- 
seeing, but evidently was not much impressed 
with anything until he came to Westmin- 
ster Abbey, '' where, " he says, '^we paused 
in solemn contemplation of the illustrious 
dead. We spent a long time in this beau- 
tiful and solemn Abbey. The building itself 
is worthy of much time, even if unconnected 
with its glorious associations. It appears 
highly finished and even overwrought, but 
when examined as a whole with all its 
exquisitely rich decorations, it impresses 
one forcibly with its solemn grandeur and 
rare combination of architectural beauty.'' 




SiDAY HaWES 

Coltishall, England 
Died 1863 



VARIOUS SERVICES 127 

The architecture of the Houses of Par- 
liament call forth in his journal an interest- 
ing comment. He says: '^A plainer style 
of architecture would have pleased my eye 
better. . . .When considered as the Legisla- 
tive Hall of a great nation and where the 
law is administered in all its majesty, the 
gingerbread decoration of small spires stuck 
everywhere about it looks like a departure 
from every consideration attributable to the 
unaffected and sturdy English character." 

While visiting the beautiful home of the 
sister of his friend, Mr. Hawes, at Dulwich, 
he says: ''When we had rested and taken 
a lunch, Mr. Courage, his son John, and 
myself set off for Greenwich to see the 
famous asylum for the invalid British sea- 
men. It was at the distance of a few miles. 
We passed along a continuous town by the 
Thames. . . .Before we got to the Greenwich 
Hospital we saw here and there the old 
pensioners, with their blue frock coats and 
three-cornered cocked hats, seated at some 
door or walking with a woman or child, or 
hobbling along on a crutch. I had witnessed 
nothing in England that interested my 
feehngs and my mind as much as the sight 
of these men, and it was not long before we 
were within the Hospital grounds with the 



128 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

immense pile of noble buildings for the ac- 
commodation of the invalids, and surrounded 
by the recipients of the nation^s bounty, to 
the number of twenty-seven hundred. 

^'A rush of confused thought pressed upon 
my mind. It was a melancholy sight, yet 
it was a noble charity worthy a nation's 
gratitude. Who can say but that it is the 
means by which the nation exists? England 
could not exist without her seamen, and 
would her seamen abide by her if not pro- 
tected and cherished in their old age? 
Besides the buildings of three stories high, 
in which the wards are provided, there are 
long, high corridors open at either side, 
furnishing a noble walk in rain or in sunshine, 
and the whole fronting the Thames with 
the great city on the opposite side. Jack 
may hobble along here and watch the ships 
put to sea and think how he once, in times 
past, full of hfe, hope, youth, and reckless- 
ness, thus boxed his craft down the river 
on his way to the ocean or wheresoever else 
his fate might take him. With time and his 
infirmities, his feelings have changed, and his 
only care now is to watch the changing scene 
before him, to be patient, and live along 
until the flickering lamp with another blaze 
is gone forever. One would scarce look for 



VARIOUS SERVICES 129 

pride or ambition amongst this mass of 
human infirmity, yet, in noticing a medal 
suspended from the button of an old tar, 
his eye kindled and all his manhood seemed 
to inspire his worn-out frame, as he recapitu- 
lated the occasions for which he should have 
received three more. It was a momentary 
burst of nature and he calmly smiled with the 
remark that ^they had decided against him.' '' 

In the autumn of 1850 the cruise of the 
St. Lawrence terminated, pleasant relations 
having been fostered with the several Euro- 
pean powers visited, and Paulding brought 
the frigate home. 

A letter from Count Platen, of Sweden, 
speaks of the visit of the St. Lawrence to Stock- 
holm, where she was enthusiastically received. 

Stockholm, August 21st, 1849. 
My dear sir: If, as I had very good reason to expect 
when I left you the last time, after my very flattering 
and truly kind reception on board your noble ship, the 
St. Lawrence, I should have met you again in a short 
time, I might perhaps not have troubled you with any 
letter of mine, but, having by the last mail got the order 
of my Sovereign to continue my service here in Stock- 
holm, I think I do not judge you wrongly, my dear 
sir, if I beheve that a few words from me will not be 
disagreeable to you, even did they, in full truth and 
nothing but truth, contain something that might be 
construed into flattery by those that did not know you, 



130 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

and were speaking as I must do, in a public as well as 
in a private sense. It is one of my pieces of great 
fortune and which, as you may know, does not always 
fall to the lot of public men to be able, in both these 
points of view to say that the Government of the United 
States could never have sent us a "better man," and 
that every true friend of my country must consider the 
selection of you, my dear sir, and your officers as a 
comphment paid to the country at the time the first 
American man-of-war paid a visit to the capital of 
Sweden. 

Now you must, however, understand that I do not 
only express my own private feelings, but those of 
people, and even official men, "wdth whom you and your 
officers and crew might have been in contact in some 
way or other, and whose opinions I have taken some 
pains to hear, and all agree that your mission was 
altogether one that did great honour to the country 
that sent it. After what I have said, and really do feel 
upon this subject, it cannot astonish you if I again 
urge upon you the propriety of visiting Christiania, the 
present, and probably the middle of September, abode 
of the King, and as I am sorry to say that I have now 
no more any hope of meeting you there, it cannot but 
be upon public grounds that I do so. And now, my 
dear sir, I bid you "farewell" for how long a time 
nobody knows. Your visit here during the time of my 
office will always be a bright spot on my horizon and 
in forwarding the best thanks of my Lady for your 
civihty and kindness toward her and her husband, I 
sign myself, with the most perfect consideration, 
My dear sir. 

Truly yours, 

(Signed) Platen. 



VARIOUS SERVICES 131 

One thing gave the Commodore no little 
anxiety during this cruise, when the Ameri- 
can man-of-war was in constant receipt of 
attentions that must be officially recipro- 
cated. Would the officers of the Treasury 
meet the expenses necessarily involved in 
the receptions he must give to the officials 
on the foreign stations? The question was 
asked and he was advised by an official of 
the Treasury to ''go on and acquit himself 
with credit to the Government he repre- 
sented, and when the bills were presented, 
doubtless he would be relieved of all expense;'' 
but until Congress passed a bill for his relief, 
many years later, in 1867, this debt was a 
personal affliction. It was well for the Gov- 
ernment that Paulding, regardless of the 
personal inconvenience that might result, was 
equal to the occasion and acquitted himself 
worthily as an officer of the United States. 

Certain despatches from the Secretary of 
the Navy in 1848-49 and an extract from 
a letter written by Mr. Mason, Secretary of 
the Navy, to a member of the United States 
Senate, in 1850, may be of interest. 

To Capt. Hiram Paulding, 

Commanding United States Frigate St. Lawrence. 

Navy Department, December 18th, 1848. 
Sir: Your despatch No. 4, dated at Bremerhaven 



132 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

November 16th, has been received and your course, 
as therein indicated, is approved. Your conduct has 
been judicious, and you have honorably and satis- 
factorily met the views of the Department. It is a 
source of the highest satisfaction that you have so 
gracefully received the marks of distinguished respect 
for our country and its flag. I am 
Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) J. Y. Mason. 



Capt. H. Paulding, 

Commanding United States Frigate St. Lawrence. 

Navy Department, January 25th, 1849. 
Sir: I have received with satisfaction your despatch 
dated at Southampton 28th December, 1848. 

I regret that I cannot, in advance of the presentation 
of the bills, say that the expense of the entertainment 
given at Southampton on public account will be 
approved by the officers of the Treasury. The question 
will be met and decided with a due sense of the high 
and praiseworthy motives wMch actuated you, and a 
strong conviction of the happy moral influence exerted 
on our national character and foreign relations by your 
judicious conduct in command of the St. Lawrence 
on the continent and in England. It is a source of 
great satisfaction to me that the noble frigate was sent 
on the interesting special service, which has been so well 
performed, and already produced such happy results. 
I am 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) J. Y. Mason. 



VARIOUS SERVICES 133 

Letter from Mr. J. Y. Mason to a senator: 

My dear sir: I am asked to give some expression 
of opinion as to the character of the service performed 
by my friend Captain Paulding while in command of 
the frigate St. Lawrence. I ordered him in command 
of that fine new frigate to make an independent cruise. 
Passing through the British Channel, he went to the 
North Sea, remained for some time at Bremerhaven, 
the port of Bremen, and by the presence of his ship, 
and his discreet and judicious conduct, added to the 
national character, and gave protection to American 
commerce in the north of Europe. No ship of war had 
ever before exhibited our flag in the Weser, and for 
more than thirty years an American ship of war had 
not visited the North Sea. Besides the troubles in 
regard to Holstein and Schleswig a revolutionary spirit 
was exhibited throughout Germany and after a noble 
struggle for free institutions it went out with the 
Hungarian subjection. This condition of things made 
the presence of an American man-of-war necessary in 
that quarter. The arrival of the St. Lawrence was 
hailed with rapturous delight and the ship was crowded 
with eager visitors of the highest rank. This involved 
Captain Paulding in heavy expenditures, which he 
could not avoid without a niggardly imputation 
injurious to the national character. With private 
individuals he might have acted otherwise, but with 
crowned heads and public authorities he could not 
withhold those civilities which were expected." . . . 



CHAPTER VII 

COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 

In 1851 Paulding was given the command 
of the Navy Yard at Washington, and for 
two and a half years remained there with 
his family quartered in the old house where 
it was said the shade of Admiral Tingey 
with his long queue still wandered at night. 
Washington was then a very different place 
from the city as we now know it. The only 
public conmaunication with the Yard was 
by means of two omnibuses, which rumbled 
along through the dusty streets to the foot 
of Capitol Hill near the public gardens. 
One was called, in compUment to the Com- 
mandant of the Yard, the "Commodore 
Paulding, '^ the other after the Conomandant 
of the Marine Barracks, the ''General Hen- 
derson.^' Commodore Ballard, who had just 
died in conamand of the Yard, had pur- 
chased a fine span of horses and a carriage, 
and whether he could afford it or not, the 
new Commandant was made to feel that, in 

134 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 135 

kindness to the widow of a brother officer, 
he should purchase the whole outfit. As 
the horses were very deHcate and the colored 
coachmen universally employed were not 
always reliable, many amusing, not to say 
annoying, incidents resulted from the posses- 
sion of the State carriage. On one occasion 
when the Commodore in uniform had made 
a formal call with his wife on some dignitary, 
he found his young coachman asleep on the 
box, and, waking him, directed him to drive 
home, but when half-way there he saw from 
the window Tom was swaying from one 
side to the other, evidently too drunk to 
recover himself. There was nothing for it 
but, uniformed as he was, the Commodore 
had to mount the box and drive to a place 
where a substitute could be found. 

At that time Washington was full of 
colored people, mainly slaves, who were 
hired out by their masters, who in some 
instances reaped a good harvest from their 
labors. Two are especially present to my 
recollection. One was employed by a 
marine officer living next door to us. Nancy 
was one of the mischievous kind, delighting 
in pranks. I remember her mistress telling 
us that in going home one night she found 
Nancy sitting in a rocking-chair, balancing 



136 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

on her head the tea tray, on which were 
her best cups and saucers. Her dexterity 
deserved a better reward than the lashing 
she received from a horsewhip when her 
master heard of it. 

Another was our cook, a young woman 
with a boy four or five years old, and 
beautifully trained by his mother to obe- 
dience and industry. At her master's death 
she had been purchased by her brother-in- 
law, a hideous deformed black man, who in 
hiring her to work for others promised her 
that all the money she brought him should 
pay for her freedom, but after a time he took 
her boy from her, treated him cruelly, and 
told her she was no nearer freedom than 
when he bought her. These, our first 
glimpses of what slavery meant, were a sad 
revelation of what it might be where it was 
the universal condition of the negro. 

Franklin Pierce had taken the reins of 
office in March of the previous year (1853), 
and had evidently assumed the responsi- 
bilities with the determination to reconcile 
all parties and hold the Union in peace. A 
native of Concord, New Hampshire, he had 
heard and seen enough of the spirit of the 
Abolitionists to realize their powerful influ- 
ence, but an astute lawyer and politician 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 137 

and a whole-hearted Democrat, throughout 
his administration he acted on the principle 
that as slavery was not prohibited by the 
Constitution, but was endorsed by and em- 
bedded in it, his policy should be to endorse 
nothing that could antagonize the South or 
give cause for sectional rupture. 

Kansas, one of the Western States, geo- 
graphically the center of our Union, was 
originally a part of the Louisiana purchase, 
and in 1820 a bill had passed Congress, 
called the Missouri Compromise, which 
prohibited slavery north of 30° 36' latitude. 
In 1851 Mr. Douglas, chairman of the 
Senate Committee on Territories, introduced 
a bill organizing Kansas and Nebraska into 
territories permitting slavery therein. The 
bill was passed, and through the remainder 
of Mr. Piercers administration and during 
the following one, a storm center was formed 
there that later on joined the factional dis- 
turbances working elsewhere. 

In his first message, President Pierce 
(1853) spoke of the repose that had followed 
the compromise of 1850 and said 'Hhat this 
repose is to suffer no shock during my official 
term, if I have power to prevent it, those 
who placed me here may be assured." 
Compromise is sometimes necessary; tem- 



138 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

porizing with wrong is apt to be disastrous. 
Mr. Pierce opposed the abohtion of slavery 
in the District of Columbia. He maintained 
the constitutionality of slavery and the Fugi- 
tive Slave law, denounced slavery agitations 
and hoped ''that no sectional or ambitious 
or fanatical agitations threaten the dura- 
bility of our institutions or obscure the 
Ught of our prosperity." Such was the feel- 
ing in the atmosphere during the period of 
Hiram Paulding's residence in Washington. 
The ''Kansas and Nebraska bill" was the 
stirring episode of one spring, but at the 
Navy Yard we only heard echoes of what 
was being enacted. 

The official circle there was a pleasant 
one, harmony prevailing among all. The 
Captain of the Yard, a Virginia gentleman, 
always took a gloomy outlook of the con- 
dition of the country, and we well knew 
that when the quarter-deck walk to and fro 
on the piazza began, the Captain was proph- 
esying war and trouble, while with cheerful 
optimism the Commandant tried to reas- 
sure him. I can hear him now, as he would 
say good-night, turn to my father with 
"Depend upon it, sir, it's Gospel truth, 
I'm sure of it. Virginia will go out" if such 
and such things occur. And from the 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 139 

expression of deep concern on my father's 
face I knew he had grave forebodings of 
what was to come. 

One evening Mrs. Pierce, who had taken 
a great fancy to the writer's mother, sent a 
message begging she would come with my 
father when he came that evening to see the 
President. I was a schoolgirl, but was 
pleased when my mother asked me to go 
with them, as a visit to the White House 
and an interview with the President and 
Mrs. Pierce was not to be declined. Mrs. 
Pierce was in deep mourning, having recently 
lost her last son in a railroad accident. 
Mother, too, was in deep mourning for her 
father. Mrs. Pierce seemed very sad, but 
her greeting was most kind and gracious. 
In contrast to them I noticed a lady who 
at once captivated us by her brightness, her 
youth, and her charming personality. She 
and a girl of my age, who was introduced as 
her sister, were beautifully dressed; and I 
scarcely noticed a man of keen strong fea- 
tures talking with the President when some 
one addressed him as '^Mr. Davis," and I 
knew this must be the Secretary of War, 
with his charming wife and her sister. Long 
after, when I realized the cleverness of 
Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War, in having 



140 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

managed so well in the equipment of the 
Southern fortifications, and when I knew 
the part he was to play in the great contro- 
versy, I remembered that evening and felt 
a pang for the charming lady who shared 
his fortunes. 

Central America had been a place of 
great interest to England, which at one time 
estabUshed a protectorate over the Mos- 
quito Coast. A clever man from Nashville, 
Tennessee, WiHiam Walker, a student of 
law, of medicine, of the art of war, led 
several filibustering expeditions to places 
outside our territory. He was unsuccess- 
ful in Mexico, was arrested for violating 
neutrality laws, but in 1855 was induced 
by American speculators in Nicaragua to 
interfere in the intestine troubles in that 
country, ostensibly in aid of the Demo- 
cratic party there. For a year he carried on 
a predatory warfare with varying success, 
until in '56, after many high-handed acts, he 
caused himself to be proclaimed President 
of Nicaragua, annulled the existing prohi- 
bition of slavery, and sent a minister to 
Washington in 1856, who was recognized by 
President Pierce. His arbitrary acts soon 
provoked insurrection and he was defeated 
and in May, '57, with sixteen officers, sur- 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 141 

rendered to Captain Charles Davis, U. S. N., 
who sent him to Panama. Thence he went 
to New Orleans and was put under bonds 
there to keep the peace, in which, however, he 
failed, for in November again he returned to 
Nicaragua, where we shall hear of him later. 

During the whole of Mr. Pierce's admin- 
istration no changes took place in the Cabi- 
net. A man of undoubted integrity and 
charming courtesy, his urbanity attracted 
people to him, while his keen intellect, 
wonderful powers of oratory, and intuitive 
knowledge of human nature held those he 
had won. Not a slave owner himself, he 
was profoundly imbued with the conviction 
that the Constitution protected the slave- 
holders in their rights, and to the last he 
adhered firmly to that conviction, though 
when the disunionists began civil war by 
firing on Fort Sumter, he addressed a mass 
meeting conjuring the people to sustain the 
Government against the Southern Con- 
federacy. 

On the 20th of June, Paulding was 
detached from the Navy Yard, and on the 
30th of the same month was ordered to 
assume command of the Home Squadron, 
reporting to the Commandant of the Navy 
Yard, Norfolk, and there taking the sailing 



142 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

frigate Potomac as his flag-ship. Cap- 
tain Powell, who had been with him at the 
Washington Yard, was in command of the 
ship. The Cyane, Falmouth^ Fulton, Sara- 
toga, and other ships were at various times 
attached to the squadron, whose cruise was 
to extend from the West India Islands and 
the mouth of the Amazon to the coast of 
Newfoundland, and eastward as far as the 
Azores. 

In the course of the summer the Potomac 
visited the Azores, but much inconvenience 
was sustained by the leaking condition of the 
ship, which gave serious trouble. Early in 
November they returned to New York, the 
ship was put in dry dock and caulked and 
repaired, and by the last of November they 
sailed for the South. 

After a passage of nearly a month, during 
which time they had to stop at ^'Nicola 
Mole" for water, and were much annoyed 
by serious leaks in the ship, notwithstand- 
ing the time that had been consumed in 
caulking it while in dry dock in New York, 
they arrived at San Juan, one of the objec- 
tive points of the cruise, as it was the point 
where the passengers from the Pacific 
arrived and whence the steamers sailed for 
New York. Within the five or six so- 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 143 

called republics of the Isthmus, Granada, 
Nicaragua, San Salvador, Costa Rica, and 
Honduras, constant confusion prevailed. 
A quotation from the Commodore^s journal 
illustrates the conditions. 

San Juan del Norte, 

December 22d, 1855. 
"We found anchored here the English twelve-gun 
brig Espiegle, Commander Lambert. . . . Captain 
Lambert informed me that when he came he had twenty- 
men in their hammocks with fever, but after a stay 
of two months there were only three cases of slight 
indisposition." . . . ''On the 23d visited by Captain 
Lambert, Commercial Agent Cottrell, and Colonel 
Kinney with his secretary. Mr. Hutchins, representing 
the Transit Company/ breakfasted with me and I 
visited their buildings. In the afternoon the surgeon, 
Dillard, left for Granada bearing a despatch from me to 
His Excellency, J. H. Wheeler, and as there was thought 
to be danger from parties on the river, Captain Powell 
accompanied him with boat and crew to the Rapids. 
Mr, Hutchins told me he was going to Granada and 
would see Walker when he felt the companies' boats 
would be secure against the parties that had threatened 
their destruction commanded by Young Rivera, show- 
ing conclusively that a good understanding existed 
between Walker and the Company, although Walker 
had more than once seized their boats for his military 
purposes and taken by violence, as Mr. Hutchins 

1 An American Company attending to the transfer of 
passengers and freight to the Panama R. R. & Steamship 
Line, thence to San Francisco. 



144 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

informed me, twenty thousand dollars. The consul, 
or rather commercial agent, Mr. Cottrell, appeared 
to have Httle information and seemed fearful lest what 
he commimicated or the opinions he expressed should 
be repeated to his disadvantage. He informed me he 
had certain papers of some importance that he would 
exhibit for my perusal, and which he had communicated 
to the State Department. I thought, although he did 
not say so, that his impression was that the Company 
had favored Walker's enterprise, and it is already 
clearly my opinion that without the facilities afforded 
by means of their boats and money Walker would have 
been, to say the least, less hkely to succeed. Mr. 
Cottrell told me that a Mr. Martin, governor of Grey- 
town (that we call San Juan), considered himself under 
the Protectorate of Great Britain, so Mr. Cottrell did 
not consider him an American citizen. 

" Greytown is a miserable village, on the south shore 
of the harbor, consisting of about 50 to 100 dwellings 
in all — frame and thatch houses and huts with none 
of considerable pretension. Near the center is a small 
square where what is considered the Mosquito or Pro- 
tectorate flag is hoisted in the morning and hauled 
down in the evening. The flag consists of stripes of 
blue and white for the fly and the cross of the Union 
Jack for the union. It is attended by a negro, but it 
is not known by whom he is paid. The supposition is, 
of course, by an employe of the British Government. 
A few years since, it is said, a guard of some ten negroes 
from Jamaica with their guard-house, arms, etc., a 
piece or two of brass ordnance were there to look out 
for the flag and Protectorate. San Juan is destined 
to be an important place at no distant time, and if 
the "Company" does not find a master in some Govern- 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 145 

ment they will soon control the country. The English 
keep one or more men-of-war in this harbor constantly, 
showing that they feel a good deal of interest in the 
affairs of their Mosquito friend and his domain. The 
British Consul is said to be at Bluefields, where His 
Mosquito Majesty resides and where revenues from 
the Corn Islands and certain plantations of some kind 
are appropriated, perhaps for the expense and honor of 
the flag that flies at Greytown. Colonel Kinney and 
Walker are not friends and it is said that Walker has 
declared he would hang him if he came to Granada. 

"The whole country for many miles, as far as I can 
learn, is a swamp or a dense impenetrable forest which 
appears forbidding to the very shores, and the popula- 
tion, small as it is, depend for supply on distant trans- 
portation." . . . 

''At this time Walker was with his force at Virgin 
Bay, which is on Lake Nicaragua, where the passengers 
debark for the Pacific. The opposing forces of Nicara- 
gua under General Corral were about twelve miles off. 
The steamer's boat came to the shore for some necessary 
purpose and one of Walker's officers with twelve men 
seized her, went on board the steamer, and took pos- 
session of her. Then the forces of Walker were put on 
board and in a few hours transported to Granada, where 
there was no opposing force and Walker took possession 
of the place. He then sent to Corral, and it was 
arranged for a surrender by Corral. He was a man of 
great popularity and Walker offered him the presidency, 
which he refused, and was then told to name his man. 
He named the present incumbent, Don — , and Corral 
accepted the office of Secretary of War. It is said he 
WTote a letter to Don — instructing him to advance and 
in what manner to assault Walker. Walker had him 



146 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

tried by court martial and condemned. The President 
he named signed the death warrant and Corral was 
shot in twenty-four hours. The whole population peti- 
tioned for a commutation of his sentence to banish- 
ment, and one of two orphan daughters presented the 
petition, which did not change Walker's purpose. She 
became a lunatic." 

December 24th. 
"I wrote a letter for Mr. Cottrell, commercial agent, 
and for Mr. Hutchins, acting agent for the Transit Co., 
calling for information in regard to the seizure of the 
steamers and the destruction of passengers, etc." 

December 28th. 
"In the steamer Captain Hornsby, second to General 
Walker, came and sent to say he would "like to wait 
upon me unofficially." I replied that I would receive 
him, and accordingly he came on board. He was a 
tall man of six feet two or three inches, wiry and 
muscular, with a hardy and determined look, as if equal 
to the task his manner of life called for, with beard 
covering his face. He said, after I had given him a 
friendly greeting, that he had come on the part of the 
General to invite me to Granada, which, with a civil 
message to the General, I declined. He remained with 
me an hour or more, recounting some of their extraor- 
dinary adventures, informed me that Walker had 
about four hundred men, that he had the means of 
information of all that transpired throughout the 
country, that everjrthing was quiet and they had no 
doubt of being able to sustain themselves in Nicaragua, 
that the General was at work developing the resources 
of the mines and other interests of the country, that, 
without equal exactions to the parties that had preceded 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 147 

them, they had ample means for their wants. He 
spoke of Greytown and indicated a purpose of taking 
it and hauling down the Mosquito flag, making 
some allusion to the British brigs of war to which he 
pointed. 

" I advised him not to land in San Juan, knowing 
there was no friendship between him and Kinney, who 
has a few followers with him, and apprehensive of some 
scene of violence. I also told him that the time had 
not arrived for them to resist the British Protectorate 
of the Mosquito territory. In the evening he left. 
Our consul, Mr. Cottrell, came on board while he was 
here and the next morning I learned from Captain 
Ogle of the Arab that he knew I had had a visitor 
and an invitation to visit Walker." 

During the week following, several visit- 
ors to the ship gave conflicting accounts 
of the conditions prevailing, all seeming 
anxious to stand well with the Comman- 
dant of the fleet, who had difficulty in per- 
suading some of the officials to observe 
discretion in making ceremonious visits on 
board the British vessels, etiquette being in 
official life next in importance to principle. 

On the 7th of January, 1856, the fleet 
was again at sea on the way to Havana, 
where they arrived on the twentieth, and a 
series of visits of ceremony followed, the 
understanding being that always the en- 
tente cordiale was to be cultivated with all 



148 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

foreigners with whom our men-of-war came 
in contact. 

I quote again from the journal. 

Monday, Januaky 21st, 
Havana. 
"Pleasant weather. The Captain of the port, a 
boat from the Admiral's ship, and the two Captains of 
the French brigs visited the ship. In the morning an 
officer. Colonel Lanesta, who spoke English very well, 
came on board from the Captain-general to offer any 
service, inviting the officers to a soiree on Monday 
evening, and sajdng the Captain- general had directed 
him to say that the officers could go where they pleased 
about the island, and that he would at any time, when 
informed, send an escort or some officer who would 
make an excursion pleasant to them. At 9.20 Mr. 
Robertson, our acting consul, came on board and was 
saluted by seven guns. At 11.45 we hoisted the 
Spanish flag and saluted with twenty-one guns, and at 
12 M. hoisted the Spanish flag, let fall the foretopsail, 
and saluted the Admiral with thirteen guns. Both 
salutes were returned, gun for gun." 

January 22d. 

"At 1 P.M., accompanied by the Captain, First 
Lieutenant, Fleet Surgeon, Captain of Marines, Mr. 
Pleasants, and Midshipman Lea, went on shore, and, ac- 
companied by the Consul, called on the Captain- general. 
We found him affable and friendly, warning me of our 
men's exposure to disease, saying the fever had been 
very fatal until the end of December and still lingered 
in the city. The Admiral told me the same thing, 
with the addition that the cholera existed to some 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 149 

extent, and both he and the Captain-general giving 
me certain sanitary precautions. The Captain-general 
inquired if there were anything in the city that I desired 
to see, offering me his carriage and an escort at any 
time, and saying many civil things, and repeated the 
invitation his aide had given in the morning to the 
soiree. The Admiral was very communicative, spoke 
English very well, said many civil things about our 
country and the advantage to Spain of having a 
friendly alliance with the United States. He offered 
whatever we might want from the arsenal and in any 
way the assistance he could render, and seemed in 
every way a charming old gentleman. 

In the evening the Captain and half a dozen officers 
landed to attend the Captain-general's soiree. Having 
found the card of Mr. Crawford, the English consul, 
at our Consul's office, I went to his office with the 
officers and called upon him, and found in him an old 
acquaintance I had met some sixteen years ago in 
Tampico." 

Wednesday, January 23d. 

"Cloudy and a cold wind from the north. The 
General of Marines came on board with captains of 
the Spanish ships in port. He went all over the ship 
and seemed to be much pleased with everything. He 
left after a visit of more than an hour, expressing his 
gratification with the cordial manner in which he 
had been received. We saluted him at parting. 
Two French twenty-gun brigs, LaPerouse, Commander 
Geofrey, and another, Leps, each saluted us with 
thirteen guns, which was returned from our ship. 
The Admiral's ship returned our salute to the Admiral. 
A number of our countrymen and ladies came on board 
and spent an hour or two." 



150 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

January 24th. 

"On the evening previous the Captain and my 
secretary received an invitation to dine with the Cap- 
tain-general, which by my advice they accepted this 
morning for this afternoon. At meridian I received 
a note of invitation dated on the 22d to dine with the 
Captain-general to-day at 6 p.m. The Fleet Surgeon 
also got an invitation. In view of the lateness of the 
hour at which it was received, and the carelessness that 
had been manifested by a high official functionary 
of a people fastidious in their ceremonials, I deemed it 
due to my pubUc station poUtely to dechne. In doing 
so I named the importance of preparing despatches 
for the steamer of the next morning, and the fact that 
I had just then (at meridian) received the note of 
invitation. I sent my note to the palace by an officer 
and in an hour afterward Colonel Lannete, aide to the 
Captain-general, came to explain on the part of His 
Excellency and ask when it would be convenient for 
me to dine with him, requesting that I would name a 
day. I acknowledged to the Colonel that I was satisfied 
a mistake had been made and regretted I could not 
name a day to dine with the Governor as I was on the 
eve of going to sea. 

'' On the following morning, accompanied by the First 
Lieutenant of the ship, I called at the palace and had 
a pleasant interview with the Captain-general. He 
spoke of a report some time since received of an expedi- 
tion fitting by the exiles from Cuba, in New York, to 
land at San Juan del Norte and thence to invade Cuba, 
and agreed with me in the absurdity of this as all other 
reports of the kind, and assented to my assurance of 
the good faith of my Government. Before I left he 
spoke of the Battahon of Chasseurs and of the Casa- 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 151 

dores stationed at the fortress on the east side of the 
harbor, said they were perfect in their drill, and asked 
if I would not like to witness their evolutions. I 
replied in the affirmative and he said Colonel Lannete 
should go with me at 4 p.m. I inquired if I should 
send a boat for him and he said ''No," the Colonel 
would come for me. Accordingly at 4 p.m. the Colonel 
came alongside the ship in the Captain-general's barge, 
with crimson cushions and curtains, and after spending 
a short time with me on board we went to the Cabanas 
Fort. 

"The civil and mihtary governor, General Esche- 
veria, accompanied by Captain Powell and a number 
of boats, joined in the procession, and we landed at 
Cabanas. There from the water we ascended a very 
steep, wide, well paved road for a hundi-ed feet or more 
before we entered the plateau of the Fort. As we came 
to the Fort, which was on every side built on a precipitous 
hill, the wails were some thirty or forty feet high and 
inaccessible by any ordinary means, we passed along 
between the walls of two fortresses over a wide road 
until we came to the gate where we were admitted, and 
the Governor of Cabaiias, a tall old gentleman of sixty, 
presented himself. He conducted us along the Fort 
and through gates, guards being everywhere turned 
out to receive me, until at last we emerged upon the 
open plain that looks out upon the sea. Here we found 
the battalions paraded and exercising, with a number 
of spectators. The battalions of Casadores went 
through many evolutions, among others the forma- 
tion in line of battle, the guerilla formation, the 
hollow square for resisting cavalry, and others, 
acquitting themselves in a higlily creditable manner, 
continuing until at last the General asked if I 



152 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

would have them dismissed, impressing upon me 
that the exhibition was for me. When I answered 
in the affirmative, bugles sounded and the troops formed 
in hne of march, and the Colonel in command came and 
was presented to me. I thanked and complimented 
him and we passed on to the other battalion near the 
Morro. Here again we were entertained with a display 
of well disciplined troops who went through their evolu- 
tions in a very perfect manner, completely mimick- 
ing the art of war. It was late and I was asked by the 
General if the battalion might be dismissed. When 
I assented the muchachos were allowed to go to their 
quarters, where we heard them afterward in joyous 
revelry. 

"Thence we were conducted to the Morro Castle, 
where from the battlements we had a fine view of the 
ocean, the country around the island, as well as of 
Havana and its defenses. We entered by a narrow 
drawbridge over a deep chasm and passed for some 
hundreds of feet along a narrow passage about three 
feet wide arched overhead with very thick walls on 
either side, and through apertures, made at intervals 
for the purpose, a faint light and some air was admitted. 
At the farthest extremity of this an iron-grated door 
gave entrance to the dungeons which descend far 
below the surface of the ocean, where the light of heaven 
never reaches and whose gloomy solitude, which sickens 
the heart with despair, is poisoned with a damp 
unwholesome atmosphere, which together, and with 
the accustomed privations of food and clothing and 
every human comfort, subdues the strongest fortitude 
of human nature, and life becomes intolerable and the 
broken spirit and wasted frame sighs for the repose of 
the great deliverer, the poor man's dearest friend. 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 153 

" I sighed and almost shuddered as we passed that 
bridge and that narrow gloomy passage, made more so 
by the jQiickering Hght of a small lantern, to think how 
many of God's creatures — and many perhaps with 
only the suspicion of crime or political offense — had 
taken this sad and loathsome way to eternity. I had 
known some who by chance or accident had emerged 
from this infamous and abominable place of outrage 
upon humanity, and the graphic descriptions they 
had given me were so much like what one might con- 
ceive of pandemonium that time has done nothing 
to efface it from my mind. With all the gentle attri- 
butes of our nature that I have witnessed in the Spanish 
race, and in which I have largely participated, the 
horror of a prison like this has irresistibly associated 
itself in my mind as a part of the national character, 
and, independent of my social sympathies, I have turned 
with horror and disgust from the stain and stigma of 
such brutality. How differently were we now cir- 
cumstanced and the picture was presented to my mind: 
the contrast to the poor creatures who had passed on 
this narrow way never again to meet the sympathy of 
a kindred soul, never again to enjoy any of the rights 
of humanity, never to hear the voice of affection or 
friendship, to see the hght of heaven or to inhale a 
respiration unpolluted with the malaria of death. 
But I was attended by the military and civil governor 
of Havana, General Escheveria, an accomplished and 
elegant gentleman, than whom few are more highly 
favored by external nature, and Colonel Lannete, a 
gentleman of good manners and social, and with his 
other accomplishments speaking the English language 
fluently. 

" The garrisons at the Morro and Cabanas are fur- 



154 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

nished with water by means of cisterns which were 
pointed out to us. We passed between the dormitorias 
which, we were told, were bomb-proof and which seemed 
spacious, airy, and comfortable. The soldiers were at 
their suppers or thrumming an air of their native land. 
Their term of service is limited here to six years, a long 
enough exile, but important to the Government, not 
only on account of the expense of transportation, but 
also because when once acclimated and thus protected 
from the dreadful disease of the climate they are more 
efficient and less expensive as soldiers. There was 
scarcely an old mustache among the battaUons that 
displayed their skill in tactics. The age ranged from 
18 to 25. They were fine-looking men. I was par- 
ticularly satisfied with their uniform, which in all 
respects is adapted to the climate. The officers as well 
as men wore straw hats of panama which had mod- 
erately broad brims. Then the coat and trousers were 
of a dark mottled cotton stuff. Around the ankle and 
foot a leather strap was buckled to confine the shoe, 
securing a short legging, so that with the exception of 
the belt and musket, there was no appearance of mili- 
tary character. The officers are armed with revolver 
pistols and the men with Minie rifles. They have 
twenty thousand regular troops at Havana, besides a 
large body of militia enrolled. 

" From the ramparts of the Morro we ascended 102 
marble steps to the lantern of the lighthouse, a serious 
undertaking for those who had wandered so long over 
the solid mass of rocks that form the strata and spread 
out in every direction from the forts to the sea. When 
we descended from the light we were greeted on the plat- 
form by all the officers of the battalion, who came thus 
to do us the honor of a comphment. Being presented 



COMMAND OF THE NAVY YARD 155 

to them all by the General, I expressed my gratification 
with the perfect discipline of their men and the satis- 
faction it gave me thus to meet them personally. 

" Om* boats had been ordered to the foot of the Morro, 
and instead of crossing the narrow bridge we descended 
by a broad paved road to the waterside, the officers 
all following us to the boats. Arrived there I had again 
to address and take leave of the officers and then of 
my attendants, the General and Colonel, and having 
taken a cordial mutual leave we separated, and it was 
eight in the evening when I got on board. The next 
morning at 7 a.m. we got under way, being towed out 
by the Fulton." 

Before taking leave of the old sailing 
frigate Potomac I make an extract again 
from the journal, as in the management of 
a steamer the wind is not the all-important 
agent of progress that it must be in a sailing 
vessel. 

At Sea, January 28, for Pensacola. 

"Conmaences with a northwesterly wind and 
squally, with rain. The weather continued squally 
until night, and with light rain most of the day at 
intervals, moderate during the night and latter part 
of the day, until morning under reefed courses and 
three reefed topsails made sail. 

"At meridian sounded in sixty-five fathoms on the 
coast of Florida." 



CHAPTER VIII 

TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 

In October the Potomac was ordered north 
and as extensive repairs were needed, the 
command was transferred to the new aux- 
ihary screw steamer Wabash, carrying forty 
of the new Dahlgren guns and 700 men, 
after which the winds do not play such an 
important part in the movements of the 
ship. In October, all being in readiness for 
sea, Paulding was directed to go to Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire, and report his 
arrival to President Pierce, then visiting 
his native city, Concord, New Hampshire. 

I quote from the journal: '^The Presi- 
dent sent me word he would be in Ports- 
mouth on the 8th and would embark with 
a number of his friends on board the 
Wabash as soon afterwards as I would be 
prepared to receive him. 

"On Wednesday morning the President 
arrived and with the Captain ( F. Engle ) 
I arranged for his coming the follow- 

156 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 157 

ing day. Among those who accompanied 
him were General Henderson, from Indiana, 
George Washington, Mr. Tilden, and Alan- 
son Tucker, a young gentleman by the name 
of Hanse, from Boston, Sydney Webster, and 
Marshal Hoover. The day was bright and 
clear, with scarcely wind enough to ripple 
the water. The ship was as clean and neat 
as she could be made, and with her clean 
hammocks looked like a picture. As the 
President with his Union Jack approached 
the ship, the men lay out and spread them- 
selves on the yards, which of itself was a 
beautiful sight, and when I received him on 
the deck at the gangway, three cheers 
greeted his welcome on board. At the same 
time a salute of twenty-one guns from our 
heavy broadside commenced booming thun- 
der, and the Union Jack took its place at the 
mast-head, while the burgee broad pennant, 
my signal of office, came down, and I saluted 
the President with the appellation of 
^Admiral.' 

^' After being presented to the officers he 
walked aft and then on the forward part of 
the spar deck, seeming to be in fine spirits. 
He expressed to me his gratification in my 
being on board the ship as he was to embark 
in her. In making my acknowledgments 



158 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

I remarked that there were many gallant 
officers that would esteem it great good 
fortune to be in my place. He said, ^ Yes, ' 
but it would not be equally satisfactory to 
him, as in me he found an old friend, and it 
was thus much more agreeable to him. He 
descended and I showed him to his room, 
where he found Peter, who had prepared for 
his comforts. I had given up my room to 
him and put my bed in a cot. His friends 
now came on board, and while they were 
going round the ship an ample table was 
spread with everything that could be placed 
upon it, and on their return to the cabin 
ample justice was done to the viands, which 
were swept off without stint or ceremony. 
The President mingled for a time with 
his friends and retired. Subsequently the 
company departed and at about 4 p.m. we 
hove the anchor up and stood out to sea, 
receiving the vociferous applause of multi- 
tudes of people assembled on the shore. 

"We were seated at dinner as we came to 
the Isle of Shoals, where, when it was reported 
we were approaching them, he rose from an 
unfinished meal and went to contemplate 
a locality interesting to him from some past 
remembrance. The engine performed well 
and, as evening approached, the land receded 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 169 

from our view and the broad ocean lay 
before us in the repose of elemental rest. 
Not a cloud obscured the heavens, the moon 
shone brightly and with all her splendor, 
dimming the stars with her pale light, which 
barely suffered them to twinkle their visible 
existence. The scene was pleasant, quiet, 
and calm, and the President seemed to 
dwell with rapture on all the influences 
that surrounded him. They were in har- 
mony with his own spirit, relieved from the 
stirring emotions which had so recently 
swelled his indignant heart, and breathed 
from his lips the impassioned eloquence 
prompted by the injustice of his foes whom 
he had consigned to the scorn and contempt 
of their fellow men. He was now enjoying 
the quiet that he could not have known 
from the commencement of his presidential 
term. He conversed carelessly and pleas- 
antly with all around him, lingering on deck 
until a late hour, contemplating the unusual 
scene with an interest that could alone be 
experienced by a great mind. The ship 
itself, with wonderful power and capacity, 
the seamen in the performance of their ever 
varying duties, the officers discharging theirs, 
with every moment some novelty to arrest 
attention, were all calculated to amuse and 



160 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

instruct the mind of even a great lands- 
man. 

''General Pierce was now the first Presi- 
dent of the United States that had ever 
during his official term ventured so far from 
the capital and trusted his fortunes to the 
uncertainties of a sea life, and it will doubt- 
less be remembered as an interesting era as 
well by the nation as by the Navy. It is 
certain that it will be pleasantly remembered 
by all those whose happiness it was to be 
his shipmates on the occasion. He was 
always easy of access and conversed freely 
and playfully with the officers, and often 
addressed the seamen with a pleasant 
word. Peter, his Irish servant, was given 
the direction of things, and, as far as it 
suited his own views, instructed the steward 
in his duties. He did good and faithful 
service. He had been with Mr. Webster 
and Mr. Fillmore and prided himself on his 
association. The former had given him a 
blue coat with bright buttons, and when 
Peter got that on, he might be taken for a 
well-fed Irish nobleman." 

The days passed pleasantly when on the 
17th, the Wahash having arrived at Annap- 
olis, the President prepared to leave the ship 
for Washington. I quote again from the 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 161 

journal. ''Everything being prepared, the 
men nicely dressed, and the officers in full 
uniform, the President ascended the 'horse 
block' to take leave of the officers and crew 
in a short address. The seamen had been 
instructed to be silent until the President 
had concluded what he had to say; a patting 
of the feet on the deck after the first few 
sentences was duly admonished and all was 
silence. Again the President proceeded and 
his eloquence touched the hearts of all 
that heard him. He was listened to 
with that deep emotion that swells the 
heart as the stirring inspiration of a 
gifted mind appeals to the higher sensi- 
bilities of our nature. Every face was 
lighted up with an expression of joy, and 
the eyes of many were suffused with tears. 
A feeling of respect for the Chief Magistrate 
of the nation and a disposition to subordi- 
nation had suppressed the seamen for a 
time, but the heart was now too full for 
obedience and a loud hurrah burst from 
every lip, as if it were at the same instant. 
The kindled fire flamed as the orator went 
on, and one continued peal of applause 
followed the termination of almost every 
sentence, until in about ten minutes he con- 
cluded with a farewell, and descended to 



162 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

the boat. The officers were not less moved 
than the seamen, nor less disposed to give 
expression to their admiration of eloquence 
and genius. As the boat moved from the 
ship, followed by two others, the yards were 
manned and a salute of twenty-one guns was 
fired when the Union Jack came down and the 
broad pennant, the emblem of the Com- 
modore's office, went to the mast-head again. 
"Myself and Captain Engle, by conomand 
of the President, accompanied him, and after 
a delay of some hours at the Naval School 
we went in the cars to Washington. We 
were delayed for some time at the Baltimore 
Junction and there heard, with evident 
satisfaction to all our distinguished party, the 
result of the election that had just taken 
place in Pennsylvania. We also learned 
that the citizens of Washington had been 
prepared to give the President a handsome 
reception on the preceding evening. It was 
after seven when we arrived at the Washing- 
ton depot. There we met an immense 
crowd and, in passing through it, ascertained 
that the citizens of Washington had united, 
without distinction of party, to give the 
President a cordial reception. The Presi- 
dent told Captain Engle and myself each 
to take an arm and hold on to him. 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 163 

"In the rotunda of the depot we met 
the Mayor and committee. The Mayor 
addressed the President in a set speech, to 
which the President repHed, when we made 
our way to the carriage which was in waiting. 
I was seated alongside the President, and 
Captain Engle and the Mayor sat in front. 
In the midst of great cheering from the 
crowd we rode slowly on. Fires were blaz- 
ing along the streets and at intervals we 
found assemblages of people who cheered. 
The President stood up with his hat off, and 
thus we passed on a walk until we arrived 
at the presidential mansion, the roar of 
artillery being constant from the time of 
our leaving the depot. Around the front 
of the White House was a great assemblage 
of people and a military division called the 
City Guard. The Colonel addressed the 
President in a set speech, to which a reply 
was made, and the Chief of the nation 
bade good night and retired within to his 
own domestic altar, where the welcome of 
affection awaited him. The Captain and I 
also entered the door of our new home, 
having listened to the last hurrah, and we 
soon found ourselves established in large 
rooms beautifully furnished and everything 
arranged to secure the most perfect comfort. 



164 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

The President himself soon made his appear- 
ance and gave his personal attention to the 
inspection of everything, that his guests 
might feel assured of his courtesy. His 
other guests were cared for with the same 
solicitude." 

Five or six days were thus passed at the 
White House, where Commodore Paulding 
met many distinguished and interesting 
people. While some repairs were being 
made to the Wabash the Commodore went 
to his home at Huntington and, as he said, 
had the satisfaction of seeing the winter 
preparations for the comfort of his family 
tolerably complete. 

Just before sailing again he says: 

''I had the satisfaction of receiving Mr. 
Washington Irving with many of his 
friends. The officers in receiving him 
wore their epaulettes and we gave him a 
salute of fifteen guns. He was gratified, as 
were his party, all of whom were his family 
friends." 

On the 28th of October, 1856, they crossed 
the bar and were off, a year from the day 
they sailed in the Potomac. All went well 
during the first days of the cruise, but on 
the 30th of November a heavy gale with high 
seas put them in great jeopardy, and the 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 165 

remainder of the trip to Aspinwall was full 
of unpleasant experiences. Extracts from 
the AdmiraFs letters give details. 

Flag-ship Wabash, 
Aguadillia, I'd of Porto Rico, 
December, 1856. 

"We arrived here to-day, and will sail to-morrow for 
Aspinwall. Our passage thus far would have been 
pleasant but for a gale we encountered in the Gulf 
Stream when our ship rolled with unusual violence, our 
rigging became very slack, much of our ironwork gave 
way, and altogether we had not only an exciting time, 
but serious accidents. We lost one man who was killed 
by the breaking of a piece of iron whereby he was struck 
violently with a block. He never spoke afterward 
and died the next day. He was one of the Potomac's 
men, and a man of excellent character. At the 
same time a man had his ribs broken. Another 
man had his leg broken, a compound fracture, three 
were dreadfully scalded, and broken heads, bruised 
limbs, and sprains in numbers amounting to thirty at 
least. I myself had a severe fall and escaped serious 
injury narrowly. I had just left the deck, where I saw 
a number of men thrown to leeward with an unaccount- 
able precipitancy by a lurch of the ship. One fellow 
near where I was standing, although in a reclining 
posture, went as far as amidships, when he turned a 
sommersault and landed heavily at the next moment 
against the lee side of the ship. 

" I thought this, with what I had seen, would be a 
caution to me and soon after went to the cabin and 
seated myself on the sofa. I thought of something to 
be done on deck and rose to get my cap from my room 



166 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

when just at that moment, without my perceiving a 
movement, the ship rolled so suddenly that I had no 
time to control my tendency of gravitation. Away 
I went like a shot out of a gun, but in my descending 
way caught fairly with full and open right hand the 
stanchion amidships in the hope of holding on. It was 
a great mistake, however, as my hold was broken by the 
preponderance, and I brought up over the legs of chairs 
which had been secured, laid down alongside the sofa, 
and was thrown, doubled and twisted, hterally on that 
article of furniture, my head and shoulders coming in 
contact with the bulkhead of the Captain's room. I 
was amazed, felt hurt, and lay for some time before 
I rose to experience the extent of my injury. I felt 
that the small of my back was bruised, my wrist and 
arm strained, and that the sinews of my neck had not 
escaped. This, as I afterward found, was the extent 
of my injury. I was sore and somewhat lame for a few 
days when my aihngs passed off. 

" When recovered from the first surprise I went care- 
fully on deck, thinking if the Captain should get such 
a fall how much inconvenience it would be to him as 
well as myself. I told him of my experience and 
begged that he would be particularly careful to guard 
against accident. We stood together for a time and in 
half an hour saw the main rigging slack up so that it 
afforded no support to the mast, and gave direction 
to have it set up. I went below and was seated there 
for a short time when I heard of numerous accidents 
from a sudden roll of the ship. One after another was 
reported to me and then that the Captain was severely 
hurt. In a moment afterward he was brought below 
with his head dreadfully cut. A deep gash three 
inches long had severed his scalp on the right side above 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 167 

the temple, and the sinews of his neck were greatly 
strained. He escaped by the merest chance, being 
thrown upon the gun deck, which would probably have 
killed him. 

"I had then to assume his duties. The rigging 
slacked and the ironwork gave way fore and aft, 
and the reports of evil omen that were brought 
reminded me of King Richard the Third, of Shakespeare, 
when the battle was going against him. The First 
Lieutenant, although doing his duty manfully, said we 
must put back to repair, to which I replied not whilst 
there was a mast standing. You will suppose from all 
this that we had something more than a usual time, but 
our damages were repaired without putting back and 
we have had fine weather since and the hurt are doing 
well. I have felt very sorry for my poor old Captain, 
who is as fine and manly a fellow as one would wish to 
see or sail with. The truth is that I have not met with 
a man that I like better." 

Extract of a letter to Mrs. Paulding: 

Flag-ship Wabash, 
At Anchor at Sea near Aspinwall, 

December 13, 1856. 
" Nothing of any particular interest occurred to us 
after the date of my last scribbling until yesterday, 
when we made the land on this coast near the port of 
Porto Bello, famed in times past as one of the great 
treasure ports of Spain, from whence America sent her 
treasures to enrich Spain. It rained before we made 
the land and continued to do so all day. In the after- 
noon it fell in torrents and the weather was very thick 
and the locations along the land only to be noted by a 



168 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

close proximity. The Captain was on deck in his water- 
proof and I put on mine and joined him. There was 
no wind, and the cahn and warm weather made our 
steam languid both because we wanted draught and 
cold water for condensing — our rate of going was about 
five or six miles an hour without sails. We had thus 
coasted the shore along from headland to headland, 
keeping so near that Aspinwall could not escape us, 
until the hour of six. The thick weather and rain 
rendered objects still less visible than before, when 
suddenly the rain ceased for a time and it became com- 
paratively clear. To our amazement it providentially 
unveiled a scene that filled us with great anxiety. 
Breakers were extending along on our starboard bow 
and a high bluff of land was there, whilst on the port 
side there was not room to wear. No time could be 
lost and our situation each moment became more 
critical. 

" The engine was stopped and orders given to back, 
whilst the helm was put hard to port. The ship's 
headway was by this means somewhat lessened, but 
her bow pointed to the breakers and she was slowly 
surging on them. Usually the engine backs in three 
minutes, but now it took nearer half an hour. In 
expectation of backing, by which we should have gone 
off, we held on to our anchor until the last moment. 
From ten fathoms, however, we went to nine, to eight 
and seven, when the anchor was let go. It was too 
late, as the ship bore it along with her, and in a few 
minutes every man held his breath as we felt her strike. 
Again she rose upon the swell and came down harder 
than before, and after a breathless interval she rose and 
came down with her great weight and it seemed as if 
her masts would go through her bottom, and this was 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 169 

once or twice repeated when she rested upon the sand. 
I had scarcely a hope that her timbers would ever have 
left that place, and you may suppose how painful were 
the conflicting feelings that were then oppressing my 
heart and mind. Thank God my fortitude and 
presence of mind sustained me without the flinching 
of a nerve. I took the Captain, who was alongside 
of me, by the hand, led him to the quarter-deck, told 
him to get out his boats and carry out an anchor astern, 
have his axes ready to cut away the masts, etc., etc., 
and everything went on with less confusion than you 
could have supposed, under circumstances calculated 
to try the steady courage of men more than battle. 

" The ship had rested on the ground from the gangway 
forward — abaft that, there was water enough. Every 
minute was lengthened out to a long time. At last 
the engine began to work and the propeller to back, 
the men were all sent aft to lighten her forward, and 
she began to move and in a few minutes was fairly 
afloat. That was a moment like triumph, a heavy load 
fell from every man's heart, and the Captain gave the 
signal for a hurrah that silenced the roar of the angry 
breakers. We got her round and stood out, and lay 
by during the night just clear of the land. The ship 
has been made to leak some and we shall have to go 
into dock when we get home. The rest of the winter 
I shall hope to spend with you. The Captain is every 
inch a man and a noble fine fellow. No situation could 
be more trying than ours, and I am proud to have in 
remembrance the true bearing of the officers and men." 

(Signed) H. Paulding. 

The winter passed with the ordinary 
incidents of exchange of civilities between 



170 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

the officers of foreign vessels and officials of 
the various stations, and in the short times 
intervening between constant expeditions 
to investigate places along the coast. On the 
25th of May, 1857, he wTites in the journal: 
^^I took the fleet surgeon and Captain Stout 
and landed on the reef off Point Torro. It 
was low water and the reef was bare — 
broken coral. Along the ledges there were 
plenty of good sized pan-fish, which took 
whatever of food we threw into the water 
for them. We found a bed of small oysters. 
We left, and landed on a small sand beach, 
where were two canoes leaving for Aspinwall. 
We went to the hut hard by and saw two or 
three mulatto men and women and five 
young children entirely naked. They were 
eating rice, which was shared by a lean dog. 
Vegetation was luxuriant and the forest 
dense. Sugar-cane, bananas, and papyas 
grew without cultivation. Cocoanut trees 
were everywhere growing alongshore. We 
returned at sundown." 

Tuesday, May 26, 1857. 

Off Aspinwall. 

"I landed on the reef at Point Torro, where there 

are some cocoanut trees. Lewis, one of the boat's 

crew, climbed one of the trees for fruit and found there 

what we call a mongoose. Others came to his assist- 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 171 

ance and after a great struggle the animal was beaten to 
the ground and secured. It was gray, with two heavy- 
black stripes running over the shoulders, which are 
broad, indicating great strength. From the shoulders 
it tapers gradually, terminating in a tail about two feet 
long, thick at the body and growing smaller toward 
the end. The nose was five or six inches long and 
tapering. The legs were not unlike those of a hzard, 
strong and armed with claws, the nails on which were 
very hard and sharp and of great strength, as was 
indicated by its crushing large sticks that were thrust 
toward it. It was covered with hair, except the tail, 
which was almost bare, and the skin thick and hard. 
It weighed from twelve to twenty pounds and alto- 
gether was such a creature that few persons strange 
to it would have thought of attempting to capture. 
In the strife it got some severe cuts and bruises. The 
men brought it to the boat and tied its tail to the 
awning stanchions, where it seemed subdued and 
quiet." 

May 28th. 

''Two boats went with the seine and returned within 
a few hours with a fine supply of fish — an abundance 
for the whole crew." 

May 30th. 

"A very heavy shower came off from the land with 
thunder and hghtning, a waterspout passed near us to 
seaward." 

May 31st. 

"The Cyane came and anchored at 8 p.m." 

June 4th. 
"Order from the Secretary of the Navy for the 
Cyane to visit San Juan del Norte, and should any of 



172 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

our countrymen who had been engaged in the expedition 
with General William Walker present themselves on 
board, to receive and convey them to Aspinwall. 
Knowing there are at this time one hundred and fifty 
persons of that description there, I hurried the prepara- 
tion of the Cyane, and in the morning sent her sailing 
orders to go to sea in the evening." 

June 6th. 
"The Enghsh mail steamer Dee arrived from San 
Juan del Norte. Colonel Gouty, having some of 
Walker's men in charge, and not having received my 
letter, sent by the Dee a young man named John Tabor 
who had served with Walker and was editor of the 
Nicaraguensa. The poor fellow was in rags, had lost 
some of his fingers shot away, and had his leg broken. 
He seemed about twenty-five and of an intelligent 
and active spirit. He was sent to inform me of the 
condition of his comrades. 

June 10th. 
"H. B. M. screw steamer Tartar came in and 
anchored. Captain Erskine, the senior officer present, 
immediately came on board to offer the services of 
the Tartar to go to Greytown for our unfortunate coun- 
trymen. I acknowledged his courtesy, but declined 
the service, as Commander Robb in the Cyane was 
instructed to bring here all who might present them- 
selves for protection. In the evening Captain Erskine 
and Dunlop came on board and I landed with them to 
call on our minister to Bogota, Mr. Bowhn, who is 
staying with Colonel Totten. After a call on him we 
called on the English vice-consul, Mr. Cowan, and 
returned on board a little after nine. Wooding and 
watering as fast as possible. The weather looks stormy 
outside." 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 173 

June 11th. 
"At 3 P.M. I sat down to my table at dinner with Mr. 
Bowhn, our minister to Bogota, or New Granada, 
Colonel Totten of the Panama Railroad Co., Mr. 
Cowan, the English vice-consul, Capt. John E. Erskine 
of H. M. S. Orion, Commander Pollard, and Captain 
Dunlop of H. M. steam propeller Tartar, Lieuts. Sin- 
clair, Beaumont, and Fairfax. The company remained 
at table until near eight o'clock. The dinner was very 
good for the place and all passed off pleasantly." 

June 18th. 
"The Cyane coming in slowly. She brought from 
San Juan 142 men, women, and children. Fifty of the 
men were sick and wounded. Captain Erskine sent 
Commander Pollard to say that he would send his 
boats or render any other service he could. I accepted 
his boats for the following day, having determined, as 
the only thing that could be done, to transport them 
in the Wabash to New York. The company refused 
to take the sick and wounded and would not take any 
to New York. They would send the well to New 
Orleans for forty dollars for grown people and twenty 
for children. The fleet surgeon recommended by letter 
that the sick and wounded should go to New York. I 
made sailing orders for the Saratoga to go to San Juan 
del Norte till further orders, and detailed the other 
vessels of the fleet to other stations, which kept me 
very busy." 

The following day the filibusters were 
put on board the Wahash. The officers 
and men gave up all they could for their 



174 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

accommodation. The account of the con- 
dition of the sick and wounded is dread- 
ful beyond description. Those who have 
known the result of neglect and destitution 
can imagine it. There were thirteen women 
who all behaved well, '' deporting them- 
selves wonderfully well under the circum- 
stances." There was difficulty in making 
the able-bodied men minister to the necessity 
of their suffering comrades, but after finding 
their ration withheld for twenty-four hours 
they came to terms. One, formerly a colo- 
nel of United States dragoons, afterward a 
colonel in Walker's army, died on the way 
home. His wife was vnth him. 

June 29th the Wabash arrived at New 
York and all took their departure. The 
sick were sent to Bellevue Hospital, and the 
ship was ordered to get ready for sea. Some 
men whose time was up were discharged 
and the places were filled by others, and on 
the 30th of July the Wabash sailed for 
Aspinwall, arriving there on the 12th of 
August. 

During the month of August a reconnais- 
sance of the Isthmus was ordered regarding 
the feasibility of an interoceanic canal. 

From the journal, Wednesday, September 
23, 1857: 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 175 

"It rained hard early in the day. I dined with 
Captain Gray on board the Star of the West.^ He 
told me she had six boats, no one of which would carry 
twenty people, and in case of the loss of the ship at sea 
the passengers must perish for the want of boats, and 
as a necessary consequence the mails and treasure would 
be lost." 

October 2d. 

"Cloudy with light wind from the north. The 
Northern Light arrived from New York with mails and 
five hundred passengers, brought the sad news of the 
foundering of the Central America and loss of five hun- 
dred passengers." 

From a letter dated: 

Flag-ship Wabash, off Aspinwall, 
October 2d, 1857. 
"The Northern Light came in last evening at 9 p.m. 
and at eleven we had your letter and the papers. I 
had got into a sound sleep when Leon and Tatt woke 
me up to give me my letters and to tell me the sad, 
sad tale of poor Herndon's loss with five hundred 
passengers, and I have felt hke weeping all day. 
Poor Herndon played his part manfully, saving 
the women and children, and when he sunk in his 
hapless ship he must have had a melancholy satis- 
faction in knowing that he could have done nothing 
more. I have worn our colors at half-mast to-day for 
him. It was all we could do. Poor John Dobbin, too, 
went down with the ship. I had a pleasant interview 
with him here and introduced and commended him 

1 One of the ships belonging to the Transit Co. 



176 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

to Herndon just before they left. . . . Herndon and 
his passengers were lost for the want of boats. It was 
not blowing a hurricane, nor anything like it, not even 
a heavy gale, and suitable boats in sufficient number 
would have saved everybody and perhaps the mail 
and treasure. They had time enough, and even the 
smaU boats they had went backward and forward to 
the brig. The case is a palpable one. I have been 
for a long time observing this deficiency, and had 
written a letter to the Department on the subject to 
go by the Central America. Wanting to consider 
further on the subject and not being quite satisfied 
with the phraseology, I laid it by and rewrote it two 
days since, when I gave it to the Secretary to prepare 
for my signature, and it was so prepared when this 
melancholy exemplification was presented in the loss 
of the Central America and her passengers. I shall 
send it by this mail, backed by the proof of the calamity 
which will carry mourning through the country far and 
wide." 

October 6th. 
"At 12.30 the first train of passengers arrived from 
Panama. Eight hundred in all came over and there 
were one hundred more on the Isthmus, so that the 
Northern Light, which is four hundred tons less than 
the Illinois, takes home nine hundred passengers. They 
were generally miners, laborers, and altogether a very 
rough-looking set. The steamer passed us about nine. 
Our band played and we exchanged cheers, and rockets 
were thrown and they went on their way. Immediately 
after we got under way and stood out, steering N. N. W. 
for Providence Island. The weather was very fine — 
almost calm — and the sea smooth." 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 177 

October 7th. 
"At 4 A.M. we made the island of New Providence 
and when day broke, at five, saw the Northern Light 
anchored. She had run on shore the previous evening 
at six and got off at three in the morning. We were 
glad, having made preparations thinking we would 
have to get her off." 

October 8th. Old Providence. 

"This island is claimed by New Granada, but there 
are no officers of Government. The island is about 
five miles long and two wide; volcanic, high, and 
mountainous. It is healthy and the soil is very pro- 
ductive. There are in all five hundred inhabitants. 
The cane, coffee, and cocoa grow finely. Here we got 
oranges for one dollar a hundred, hmes for five cents, 
aUigator pears for a cent apiece, watermelons, plantain, 
bananas, pigs, chickens, and beef. Haviland supplied 
us with fish. Here we found a seed that the natives 
use in preference to coffee. The plant is an annual, 
growing about two feet high, branching out, and bearing 
the seed in pods three or fom- inches long, the pod 
and seed resembling that of the locust. It grows in 
great luxuriance wild and seems a very hardy plant. A 
black woman gave me some coffee made from it, which 
was palatable and precisely like coffee. 

"At midnight we got under way and at daylight 
made the island of St. Andrew's. This island is one 
of the most favored spots in the world. It is moder- 
ately high, the hills rising with a gentle ascent with 
broad and beautiful valleys considering the extent of 
the island. At the southern extremity is a mile or two 
of low level land where we saw large fields of corn and 
cane. The sides of some of the hills were covered with 



178 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

extensive plantations of cocoanut trees, which appeared 
very beautiful. The hurricanes never reach here and 
with the exception of a short interval the mild and 
refreshing trade-winds blow ceaselessly. The island 
has somewhat more than a thousand inhabitants. It 
is from five to six miles long and about two broad. 
It furnishes supphes of cattle, pigs, and poultry, with 
a variety of vegetables — yams, sweet potatoes, cocoa, 
yucca — and the fruits — oranges, bananas, plantains, 
alligator pears, Hmes, and many others — are very abun- 
dant and good. Indian corn grows well and the cane, 
coffee, and cocoa are here in their favored region. 
Many of the hills and valleys are covered with forest." 

November 2d. 
"Rain during the afternoon. We found the rigging 
on the spar deck covered with fungi. Mr. Bowie came 
to me with a letter from Mr. Corwine regarding a 
small Enghsh brig that wanted her sails repaired. He 
seemed a man of intelligence and gave me much infor- 
mation in regard to Boca del Torro, Chiriqui, and the 
coast from here to San Juan del Norte. Moyen or 
Salt Creek is the only place this side of San Juan del 
Norte where Walker could land and make his way into 
Costa Rica. It is sixty miles from San Jose. There 
is no harbor, but a mule road after leaving the river. 
He named six streams that lead from Chiriqui, up which 
he trades in large canoes. The town of Chiriqui is 
forty miles from the lagoon and there are savannas of 
great extent as far as the eye can see, and vast herds 
of cattle. At Boco del Torro commence a range of 
coal mines where he has seen coal extending for twenty 
leagues and where a vessel may go alongside of the 
shore and load. Mr. Bowie told me it was anthracite, 



TRANSFERRED TO THE WABASH 179 

but subsequently Colonel Totten informed me that it 
was bituminous and of little value. Mr. Bowie says 
the place is healthy and that at Boca del Torro there 
is no underbrush and you can see through the large 
trees at a great distance; that there is fine shooting of 
wild turkeys and hogs; on the shore is found abun- 
dance of turtle, and fish in the bay. There are about 
twelve hundred inhabitants." 



CHAPTER IX 

THE CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 

Navy Department, 
December 11th, 1855. 

Sir: The condition of affairs in Nicaragua, instead 
of assuming the appearance incident to a stable and 
well regulated Government cheerfully acquiesced in by 
the people, threatens to become more comphcated. 
Although the instructions already given may be 
entirely sufficient, it is considered prudent to put you 
in possession of more recent intelligence and to advise 
you distinctly of the relations of your Government to 
the authorities claiming to be in the lawful exercise of 
the functions of the Government of that State. 

Mr. Wheeler, the U. S. minister to Nicaragua, had 
been instructed not to recognize or have official inter- 
course with Mr. Walker, or those who favor his revolu- 
tionary proceedings and claim to administer the affairs 
of that republic. Previous, however, to receiving 
those instructions, our minister had pursued a different 
coiu-se. I send you a copy of the latest instructions 
to him in order that you may distinctly imderstand 
the views of your Government. The President has 
called my attention to the following extract from 
Mr. Wheeler's despatch of the 12th ulto.: 

"I hope that soon a ship of war will be at San 
Juan del Norte. In which event, as I learn from good 
authority, the present Government of Nicaragua will 
180 



CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 181 

assert its rights to the town and port of San Juan del 
Norte by taking possession and hauling down the 
Mosquito flag and raising their own, it may be proper 
to give instructions to the commander of any United 
States ship that may visit that port, since it is said 
and beUeved that this occupation by Nicaragua will be 
opposed by the English naval force, which is always 
present in that harbor." 

It is inferred from this statement that Mr. Wheeler 
is regulating his movements in regard to San Juan del 
Norte with the hope of receiving countenance and 
assistance from the naval force of the United States. 
It is not, however, inferred that the opinion is enter- 
tained that the British naval force will take possession 
of San Juan for the purpose of occupying or colonizing 
it, or retaining it at all, but that they may possibly 
interfere simply to carry out the views of the British 
Government in the exercise of a protectorate over the 
Mosquito territory, so far as to prevent any force from 
''hauling down" the Mosquito flag, and no farther. 
If that be the case, then I am directed by the President 
to instruct you to confine any interference on your 
part exclusively to the protection of American citizens. 
It is proper that I should add that official corre- 
spondence with the British Government confirms the 
President in the opinion that there is no intention on 
their part to take possession of San Juan. 

You have already been advised that your Govern- 
ment differs essentially from the Goverrmient of Great 
Britain in its interpretation of the treaty of 1850, and 
that the President will not recede from or abandon his 
construction of it. It is proper, however, that I should 
inform you that the questions arising under the treaty 
are now the subject of investigation, and that the hope 



182 LIFE OF HI^AM PAULDING 

of satisfactory adjustment has not as yet been entirely 
abandoned. 

The instructions from the Secretary of State to Mr. 
Wheeler will inform you of the viev/s of your Govern- 
ment toward Mr. Walker and the present unstable 
Government in Nicaragua, as yet unsanctioned by the 
people. 

I am directed by the President to advise you that 
it is not expected of you to afford aid or countenance to 
any force which may attempt to seize San Juan del 
Norte under the party now assuming to be in power 
in Nicaragua. You will, however, afford protection to 
American citizens if there be any in that region who 
have not abandoned their own country and forfeited 
claims to protection. 

I am not aware of ,any necessity whatever for 
detaining the Fulton, which bears you these des- 
patches. You wall, however, exercise your judgment. 
I am informed that the machinery is by no means 
strong and that it would not be safe to tax her severely. 
I am respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
J. C. Dobbin. 

Commodore Hiram Paulding, 

Commanding Home Squadron, 
San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua. 

The capture of William Walker during this 
cruise is a well known episode of the history 
of those days preceding the Civil War. 

In being ordered to the Gulf of Mexico 
and with the flag-ship at Aspinwall and the 
Saratoga at Punta Arenas for the ostensible 



CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 183 

object of preventing ^^filibusterism," the 
order was so vaguely and ambiguously 
worded that it was capable of a double in- 
terpretation. Paulding, who had not spent 
all his years in the service without a knowl- 
edge of what patriotism, the laws of the 
civilized world, and our treaty obligations 
involved, fearless of personal consequences, 
followed the dictates of his conscience, 
common sense, and the spirit of his orders 
and, as is well known, arrested the leader 
who has been termed '^the gray-eyed man of 
destiny" and sent him with his companions, 
two hundred more or less, to New York — for 
which action the Republic of Nicaragua in 
its gratitude voted him twenty caballieras 
of land and a handsome jeweled sword, which 
last, Congress in 1861 allowed him to accept, 
but, feeling it a dangerous precedent, declined 
to allow him to accept the land. 

The story of his action can best be told 
by the following letters and notes from the 
journal: 

Letter from an officer on board the Wabash: 

Flag-ship Wabash, 
December 2d, 1857. 
"This morning the shipping at Aspinwall was 
reduced to one vessel. Now it numbers ten. Of the 
arrivals four were steamers, one a man-of-war, English, 



184 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

and last, but by far the greatest of the day, and 
that which concerns us most, is the steamer Fashion. 
The Enghsh mail steamer Dee came in at the same time, 
and by her we received letters from Captain Chatard 
saying that the Fashion had arrived at San Juan a 
week ago with Walker and one hundred and eighty 
men, 'officers of the Nicaraguan army and a few per- 
sons who are desirous of becoming citizens of the 
State, ' as Walker remarks in his letter. They landed 
before the Captain and officers of the Saratoga knew 
or guessed who they were, and, after his having landed, 
Captain Chatard thought he could not interfere. 
Commodore Paulding received a long letter from 
Walker by the Dee complaining of the interference 
of Captain Chatard in not allowing him to take 
possession of some buildings on the point where he 
landed, which belong to a Mr. Scott, former agent 
of the Transit Company. A copy of Captain Cha- 
tard's and also of W^alker's letter has been sent to the 
Department and will probably be pubhshed. Even 
if they are not, the papers will give you a better 
account of the transaction than I can. Walker is look- 
ing for the arrival of three more vessels, a steamer and 
two sailing vessels, and may wait at San Juan until 
we arrive there, which will be on Friday or Saturday, 
as we sail to-morrow. 

" The opinion among the officers seems to be that 
Captain C. has made a very great mistake in allowing 
the men to land from the steamer, and as he was put 
there for the special purpose of preventing such landing, 
that he had not kept a sharper lookout. The Captain 
is exceedingly worried, apparently, as he may very well 
be, and I am afraid he has gotten himself in a very bad 
scrape." 



CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 185 

AspiNWALL, Thursday, December 3, 1857. 
"Afternoon — showers and squalls. The Enghsh 
mail steamer Dee arrived from San Juan with infor- 
mation that Walker had landed there with one hun- 
dred and fifty men. Soon after, the steamer Fashion, 
which had brought Walker from Mobile to San Juan 
del Norte, came in and anchored. Her papers were 
examined and she had no clearance. The Consul 
thought she should be seized, but did not Hke the 
responsibility or understand the form, and I did not 
consider it my duty. An English bark arrived from 
England." 

AsPiNWALL, Friday, December 4, 1857. 
"Heavy squalls of wind and rain, some thunder. 
After making up the mail and sending it on shore by 
the Consul, at 4 p.m., the steam being up, we got under- 
way and stood out of the harbor. The ship walked 
out under steam beautifully. The wind afterward 
hauled west and west southerly. It rained some 
during the night and most of the morning. In the 
morning we made the land, first in the interior high and 
then lowland. We were under steam all night. At 
meridian it was squally with rain and we did not get an 
observation." 

Off Chiriqui, December 5th. 
"We stood in for the land and made w^hat we sup- 
posed the harbor of Boca del Torro, with the rock at 
entrance to indicate it. Fired several guns and looked 
in vain for the Fulton. At 2.30 boarded a coasting 
schooner which said she was bound for Boca Torro, that 
it was about ten miles W. N." W., turned the propeller, 
and went on. Clear and pleasant. Came up with 



186 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

Boca Torro after dark, firing a gun every fifteen minutes 
for an hour, and threw a rocket in hope of hearing from 
the Fulton. We concluded the Fulton must have left 
for San Juan del Norte and steamed on. We saw the 
range of high mountains on the shore of Costa Rica. 
It rained some during the night and a heavy swell from 
the north. In the morning the mountains of Costa 
Rica were in sight. It is a beautiful range from five 
to seven thousand feet high." 

Sunday, December 6th. 
"Clear and pleasant. Under full steam for San 
Juan del Norte. When, in the evening, we came to the 
mouth of the Colorado we looked in vain for the Fut- 
ton. Kept on along shore and, having run up our dis- 
tance to Point Arenas, at 10.30 p.m. hove to. Steamed 
during the night for an hour or two. At daylight the 
land in sight. Stood in for Point Arenas, and made 
signal for a pilot. Mr. Burton, the old pilot, came on 
board. Captain Chatard of the Saratoga sent a boat 
with the pilot and came himself afterward. He was 
much distressed that he had been placed under orders 
of an indefinite character in regard to Walker, whom he 
had permitted to pass him in the steamer Fashion and 
land one hundred and fifty men, and then permitted 
the stores and munitions of war to be landed on 
Point Arenas. Had he prevented the landing of the 
stores the men must have reembarked. Walker had 
attempted to seize upon the stores on the point claimed 
by the Transit Company and others, and had been pre- 
vented and was much out of humor with Captain 
Chatard in not allowing him to have his own way in 
everything, and wrote two impertinent letters to me 
about him. 



CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 187 

"At 11 A.M. I went on shore to see Mr. Cottrell, our 
consul, and employed him to send a boat with a letter 
to Lieutenant-Commander Almy of the Fulton for her 
to come forthwith." 

Off San Juan, 
Monday, December 7th. 

"I returned on board at 2.30. The Brunswick and 
Leopard, English ships of war, had arrived, the former 
outside near us, the latter in port. When, at near three, 
we were at dinner Captain Ommanney came on board 
and dined with us, and soon afterward came Captain 
Wainwright of the Leopard and Mr. Green, the English 
consul, who sat down with us. Then came Colonel 
Hornsby and Commodore Fatchio of Walker's army, 
with a letter from Walker. I gave them an audience 
in my room, read the letter, told them the tone of 
that and of the previous one was objectionable and 
that they were here irregularly and had none of my 
sympathy, etc., etc., and with this they left me. In 
view of the violation of our laws and the disgrace to 
our country by the invasion by the piratical assem- 
blage on Point Arenas, I have determined to displace 
Walker and have taken measures accordingly. It 
rained hard all night and morning, with thunder and 
lightning, breaking at about midday."' 

Off San Juan, at Anchor, 

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 1857. 
''Cloudy with a very heavy sea setting in. The 
Brunswick near us. At two Captain Ommanney sent 
an officer to say that the Leopard would leave for 
Kingston, Jamaica, at six, and offering to take any 
conamands. We had nothing but our thanks. I sent 
orders by the Saratoga's boat that she should haul in 



188 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

abreast of Walker's camp and as near as she could, 
and anchor, with springs on her cable, and have her 
howitzers in her boats and be ready for any service. 
At 8 P.M. the Leopard came out and anchored near the 
Brunswick. At 4 p.m. it commenced raining, with 
thunder. The Fulton arrived at 5 p.m. from Boca 
Torro. The Leopard sailed for Kingston, Jamaica, at 
6 P.M. A very heavy swell and raining. At daylight 
commenced getting out the boats and at 7 a.m. to send 
our men on board the Fulton. At 11 a.m., ^vith three 
hundred of the crew of the Wabash, including all the 
marines, and with the howitzers mounted in the boats, 
we stood in for the harbor of San Juan." 

Wednesday, December 9th. 
"Anchored off San Juan. The weather was clear 
and pleasant, the sea very high. We anchored the 
Fulton near the Saratoga, and when the boats, with the 
howitzers and all, was in readiness we got under way 
and ran alongside of Scott's wharf. The broadside of 
the Saratoga was sprung to bear on Walker's camp, the 
launches with howitzers were posted so as to enfilade 
the defenses, and the marines of the Saratoga and 
Fulton, as well as the marines and small-armed men of 
the Wabash, were landed and paraded near the fili- 
buster camp and ready for action. With this dis- 
position of the force, amounting to three hundred 
besides those in the boats, Captain Engle took his gig 
and conveyed my letter to General Walker, demanding 
the surrender of his arms and the embarkation of him- 
self and followers without delay. He read the missive 
without changing the movement of a muscle, and then 
said: 'I surrender to the United States.' With this 
Captain Engle commanded him to haul his flag down, 
which was ordered." 



CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 189 

From Commodore Paulding to his wife: 

Flag-ship Wabash, 
Off San Juan del Norte, 
December 10, 1857. 

To-morrow is my birthday and I am then sixty 
years old. This may do pretty well for a weakly boy, 
but I have something else to tell you about. The 
Saratoga sails for Norfolk to-morrow or the next day, 
taking with her about 150 of Walker's officers and men, 
whom I made war upon and captured here, fortunately 
without fighting and without a casualty of any kind. 
Your boy, as well as myself, was mixed up in the affair, 
and he, I think, wanted to fight, but I did not. The 
fact is that the display of our force was so beautiful, 
and the evidence of discipline so complete, that there 
was no chance for the filibusters. We were told that 
they would die rather than yield, and our minds were 
made up to subject them to the last necessity if it was 
forced upon us. 

The Fulton had arrived just in time and we threw 
250 of our men on board of her and stood in with our 
howitzers in boats. The arms and some of the men 
had to be lowered in the boats, such was the great 
swell. 

The scene at landing was beautiful. The marines 
and seamen took their places and deployed on shore; 
the gunboats took theirs to enfilade the camp, and the 
Saratoga had her broadside to bear upon it. There 
was no chance for them, and when the gallant old 
Captain, with his lame legs, presented my letter demand- 
ing the surrender. Walker at once acceded to it. I was 
rejoiced, as you may suppose, to see his flag come down, 
for it saved much pain and great loss of life, as our men 



190 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

would have destroyed them in the first onset. I 
interchanged several messages with Walker, the object 
on my part being consideration for him, but at last 
there was an impertinence that offended me and I 
commanded his instant embarkation. Upon this he 
came to see me, and this Uon-hearted devil, who had so 
often destroyed the hves of other men, came to me, 
humbled himself, and wept like a child. You may sup- 
pose it made a woman of me, and I have had him in 
the cabin since as my guest. We laugh and talk as 
though nothing had happened, and you would think, 
to see him with the Captain and myself, that he was 
one of us. He is a smart fellow, and requires a sharp 
fellow to deal with him. I have taken strong measures 
in forcing him from a neutral territory. It may make 
me President or cost me my commission. I am sure 
I have done right, and if there is not a full justification 
it is because. . . . Besides Walker I have Hornsby, his 
second in command, and Walker's aide on board the 
Wabash, and all the men. I shall give Walker the 
chance of going in the Saratoga or presenting himself to 
Marshall Rynders in New York. 

The Enghsh ship Brunswick is anchored near us. 
Her Captain and some of the officers witnessed the 
surrender. It was a splendid exhibition of a sham 
fight. The officers and our men behaved charmingly. 
Walker tells me, with the positive asseveration, that he 
considered he was acting with the knowledge and 
approbation of the President, and that he never would 
have embarked in the enterprise but from this beUef. 
I cannot credit it. . . . 

(Signed) H. Paulding. 

Order regarding Nicaragua: 



CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 191 

Navy Department, 
December 18, 1857. 

Sir: Your despatches, Numbers 134, 135, 137, 138, 
and 139, not heretofore acknowledged, have been 
received. 

The Department enjoins upon you particular vigi- 
lance in carrying out the instructions heretofore given 
you in relation to unlawful expeditions. In doing so 
you will be careful not to interfere with lawful com- 
merce. But where you find that an American vessel 
is manifestly engaged in carrying on an expedition or 
enterprise from the territories or jurisdiction of the 
United States against the territories of Mexico, Nicara- 
gua, or Costa Rica, contrary to the sixth section of the 
Act of Congress of April 20, 1818, already referred to, 
you will cause the force under your command to prevent 
it, and will not permit the men or arms engaged in it, 
or destined for it, to be landed in any part of Mexico 
or Central America. 

The three points which it is most important to guard 
are Aspinwall, Chiriqui, and San Juan del Norte, and 
with this view you will dispose of the forces under 
your command to the best advantage. 

The President directs me to inform you that he 
considers it all important that you should not leave the 
neighborhood of these points until further instructed 
by the Department, which you are hereby ordered not 
to do under any circumstances. 

Should the Saratoga not have left before you receive 
this, you will suspend Commander Chatard from his 
command and order him to return to the United States 
to await the further action of the Department. You 
will then place Lieutenant George T. Sinclair in com- 
mand of the Saratoga, with directions to carry out the 



192 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

instructions to Commander Chatard, of the 16th ultimo, 
to proceed to Norfolk. 

The Jamestown, Commander Kennedy, will leave 
Philadelphia early next week to join you at San Juan. 
I am, 

Respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 
Isaac Toucey. 
Flag-officer, 
H. Paulding, 

Comd'g U. S. Home Squadron, 
San Juan del Norte. 

Letter to General William Walker demand- 
ing his surrender: 

U. S. Flag-ship Wabash, 
Off San Juan del Norte, 
December 7th, 1857. 

Sir: Your letter of Nov. 30 was received at Aspinwall 
and sent with my despatches to the Government. 
That of Dec. 2 came to my hands yesterday. 

These letters surprised me with their tone of audacity 
and falsification of facts. 

Your rude discourtesy in speaking of Captain' 
Chatard of the Saratoga I pass without comment. The 
mistake he made was in not driving you from the Point 
Arenas when you landed there in defiance of his guns. 

In occupying the Point Arenas and assuming it to 
be the headquarters of the army of Nicaragua, and 
you its commander-in-chief, you and your associates 
being lawless adventurers, you deceive no one by the 
absurdity. 

Lieutenant Cilly of the Saratoga informs me that he 



CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 193 

was in uniform, and you say he was in plain clothes, 
when you threatened to shoot him. 

Whilst you use such threats it may be of some 
importance for you to know that if any person belong- 
ing to my command shall receive injury from your 
lawless violence, the penalty to you shall be a tribute 
to humanity. 

Now, sir, you and your followers are here in violation 
of the laws of the United States and greatly to its dis- 
honor, making war upon a people with whom we are 
at peace; and for the sake of humanity, pubhc and 
private justice, as well as what is due to the honor and 
integrity of the Government of the United States, I 
command you and the people associated here with you 
to surrender your arms without delay and embark in 
such vessels as I may provide for that purpose. I am, 
Very respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 
(Signed) H. Paulding, 
Flag-officer ConCg U. S. Home Squadron. 

To Gen. Wm. Walker, 

Punta Arenas. 

I certify the above to be a true copy. 
T. Paulding, 

Comt. Secretary. 

In this letter of later date to his wife, he 

says: 

Flag-ship Wabash, 
Havana, Feb. 5th, 1858. 
"The question that I have raised pervades the 
republic, and is, in every view, a national question. 



194 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

I did not want notoriety, but I stand upon the national 
platform now, as the demagogues would say, and would 
like to see by the action of Congress and the country 
whether the pirate who dishonors the country, or the 
officer of high trust who redeems its honor, is to carry 
the day in the national councils. It is a pretty quarrel 
between the rights and the wrongs. I am told that in 
the congressional debates I shall get it sharply. I hope 
I shall be there to see it. Coarse denunciations will 
be the worst, and that is no argument, so we will not 
trouble ourselves about it." 

Sunday, Feb. 7th. 
"To-day I received orders by the steamer Isabel to 
proceed to New York. I shall be with you in a week 
or ten days. . . ." 

H. Paulding. 

Letter to Mr. Thomas F. Youngs concern- 
ing the capture of Walker: 

Huntington, Long Island, N. Y., 
December 3, 1858. 
My dear sir: Since retiring from the command of the 
Home Squadron our interviews have been so brief that 
I have not been able to convey to you as I desired a 
somewhat connected narrative of my proceedings in 
the disarming of Walker and the consequent vexations 
and embarrassments. In the discharge of my pubhc 
duties the first object was to meet the expectations of 
the Government and the country, and, if successful in 
this, I might look with confidence for the cordial 
sjmipathy of my neighbors and friends. In my course 
of pubUc life I have aspired to no higher ambition than 
this. 




Hiram Paulding 

Commodore, U.S.N. 
About 1857 



CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 195 

The leading facts are known to you as a part of the 
history of the last year and I will simply sketch the 
programme so as to illustrate what I desire to convey. 
First of all, then, my flag-ship Wabash was stationed 
by the Department at Aspinwall, and San Juan del 
Norte was assigned as the station of the Saratoga. 
Much solicitude was felt by the Government in Washing- 
ton in regard to the Filibuster movement in the South, 
having for its object the invasion of Nicaragua. The 
President had issued his proclamation forbidding the 
embarkation and, besides all other precautionary 
measures in the power of the Government to prevent 
the saihng of Walker and his followers, the steamer 
Fulton was sent to Mobile and New Orleans for infor- 
mation. The emissaries of the movement managed 
their affairs in such a way as to deceive Captain Almy 
and, after his arrival at Chiriqui, where he had been 
ordered by the Secretary of the Navy, he informed me 
that FiUbusterism was dead and that there was not the 
least probability of Walker's leaving the United States 
with his followers. You may suppose therefore how 
much I was surprised, not long afterward, to learn 
from Captain Chatard, of the Saratoga, that Walker, 
in the steamer Fashion, after landing fifty men at the 
mouth of the Colorado River, had made the port of 
San Juan and under the Saratoga guns and, in defiance 
of her presence there, had landed himself with 150 men 
on Point Arenas. 

The Fashion came to Aspinwall and Walker informed 
me by letter that he had landed. 

The circular order from the State Department, which 
you have doubtless seen, had been furnished to me 
and to each conamanding officer of the squadron. 
Although its commands did not comprehend my taking 



196 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

these marauders on foreign soil, yet there, on an 
isolated sand bank, I found a set of lawless men, who, 
in defiance of the President's proclamation and all 
the requirements of the laws of our country, evading 
the vigilance of the pubUc officers at home and in 
defiance of the guns of the Saratoga, at San Juan, sent 
there to prevent their landing, had disembarked under 
the American flag with the avowed purpose of making 
war upon a people with whom we were at peace. They 
had forfeited their rights as citizens and their presence 
endangered the peace of our country and interrupted 
its conmierce. 

In the broad sense of the word they were pirates 
and yet claimed to be there with the sanction of the 
President of the United States. What could I do but 
send them home? The honor of the coimtry, law, 
justice, and humanity left me no other alternative. 

I have been charged with an assumption of power, 
but some of our ablest and most distinguished men of 
the country claim for my justification that I acted in 
the spirit of my orders. Then, again, I have been 
gravely tasked for a violation of the soil of Nicaragua. 
Happily I have had it in my power to place upon the 
records of the Navy Department the thanks of Nicara- 
gua, conveyed through its president, for removing these 
troublesome people from her territory. 

Whilst Walker and his men were being sent to our 
ships of war, the river steamer Morgan arrived at 
San Juan from Castillo. She had been captured there 
by Frank Anderson, who commanded the party that 
had landed at the Colorado, and had on board at the 
time of her arrival about forty persons — men, women 
and children — who were reported as prisoners sent by 
Anderson to his chief. Walker. 



CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 197 

The Morgan had belonged to the old transit com- 
pany, had been seized by Walker during his first inva- 
sion of Nicaragua, was taken from him by Costa Rica, 
and was now again in the possession of this Filibuster 
party and used in their course of violence. A man by 
the name of McDonald claimed to be in possession, as 
the agent of Morgan and Garrison, and was acting as 
superintendent of steamers under the orders of Walker. 

McDonald had landed from the Fashion with Walker 
and remained with him at Point Arenas until the cap- 
ture of the steamers by Anderson, and then went up 
the river with an order from Walker, commanding 
Anderson to place the steamers in the possession of 
McDonald. I therefore identified McDonald as one 
of the Filibusters, sent him on board the Saratoga, 
turned prisoners and every one else out of the Morgan, 
and placed her in the care of the United States com- 
mercial agent as American property. The suit in 
which I am now called to defend myseK is brought by 
this man McDonald for turning him out of the Morgan 
and sending him with other of his comrades on board 
the Saratoga. 

Mr. Morgan denies that McDonald was his agent or 
that he had any concern with him. 

Although the President did not fully approve of 
my disarming and sending Walker home, my good 
intentions are, I think, admitted, and I relied with 
confidence upon the law officers of the Government to 
defend me in this and other suits that might result 
from the transaction. In this I have been disappointed 
by the denial of the Government and, besides the vexa- 
tion, you may suppose that, as a poor officer, I am 
oppressed and embarrassed by the unavoidable ex- 
penses to which it subjects me. I cannot but feel it a 



198 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

hardship that in my old age, after serving in every grade 
and in every part of the world in every class of pubhc 
vessels in the Navy without reproach, I should at this 
time be left to the legal persecution of lawless men for 
performing a difficult and painful duty which, however 
regarded by some, seems to have met the almost univer- 
sal approval of the whole country. 

In a matter of importance like this, where a doubt 
has been expressed, I have thought it due to myself as 
well as my friends that I should put them in possession 
of the facts, and, in doing so now, I am assured that I 
may continue to claim your respect and friendly regard. 
With much esteem, I am. 

Faithfully yours, 

H. Paulding. 
Mr. Thomas F. Youngs, 
41 South Street, 
New York. 

Concerning the capture of Walker, letter 
from Wm. M. Caldwell: 

Washington, D. C. 
December 29, 1857. 
My dear Commodore: The whole city here 
is agog about you, your late gallant doings, and 
none more so than your friends. Old Woodhull 
goes about shaking that big head of his, swearing 
that as for his part, tho' something of a Fili- 
buster and a Walker man, nevertheless you did 
the very exact thing you should have done — puts 
everybody down who says one word against the 
capture, and declares that he has reason for knowing 
that the Government will sustain you. Although the 



CAPTURE OF WILLIAM WALKER 199 

news only transpired the day before yesterday, yet so 
public is everything with us that I have been enabled 
to pick up a pretty good general idea of opinions upon 
the subject. So far as I can learn, the feeling among 
intelligent persons is that, although in the abstract, 
according to Vatel, you infringed upon neutral territory, 
yet that it was one of those very cases where such an 
act was excusable, nay, most desirable, that in taking 
the responsibility of the capture you acted as a states- 
man and an officer and that it was the very thing. As 
to your letter to Walker, its stern and terse Anglo- 
Saxon spirited phrases are in every one's mouth, espe- 
cially the delicate and new method of stating the 
hanging alternative. 

At first blush it is said that Government will disavow 
your act as illegal and not warranted by instructions, 
but the sober second idea is that, in view of your report, 
peculiar circumstances, and not forgetting the Presi- 
dent's message, they will, if they do not approve the 
act, at least do nothing adverse to you. I have no 
doubt if the Government were not so anxious to please 
the extreme South wing you would be most signally 
sustained. One thing, my dear Commodore, you may 
be certain of, and that is that in the hearts of the 
vast majority of the people and with all the best of 
them you will be applauded and admired and have 
gained a large measure of their love, no small thing 
for a patriotic heart. I know that the English here are 
very glad of the course you have pursued. I saw your 
letter or report to the Secretary of the Navy and it is 
everywhere highly approved, excepting always by the 
Southern extreme and a few retainers of the Govern- 
ment. I learn from good authority — in fact, the 
Secretary of the Navy mentioned to a naval officer 



200 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

high in rank that whatever he might poUtically think, 
he entirely approved of your conduct officially, and I 
have no doubt but that you will receive with your 
despatches stronger approval even than that. 
With entire regard and respect. 

Very faithfully, 

Your friend, 
(Signed) Wm. M. Caldwell. 

For his praiseworthy maintenance of 
treaty obligations and neutrality laws Com- 
modore Paulding w^as promptly relieved 
from his command by the superior authori- 
ties, who disavowed all complicity in his 
resolute act. Commodore Paulding went 
into retirement with the sympathy of 
millions of his fellow citizens. During the 
remainder of the term of President Buchanan 
he was officially ignored. 

In his peaceful retreat at Huntington he 
possessed his soul in patience. Although 
he was involved in annoying lawsuits by 
those whose plans he had foiled, he was 
happy in the consciousness of having done 
his duty, and, surrounded by those who 
loved and appreciated him, he bided his 
time. 



CHAPTER X 

FRIENDSHIPS 

Pebbles on the beach are not more surely- 
shaped and formed than are we by our 
surroundings, and the unconscious influence 
of a friend is sometimes a main factor in a 
life. Among the old letters preserved by 
Hiram Paulding are several from his kinsman, 
James K. Paulding, and WilHam Irving — 
older men, whose interest in the lad was 
fully appreciated by him and whose good 
advice he carefully followed. As years went 
on, his choice of friends indicated a rare 
discrimination. In his friendships there was 
a steadfastness rare in these days of change. 
He did not look for perfection, but certain 
traits in people attracted him and he made 
the most of their good points — developing 
the good and restraining whatever seemed 
to him unworthy. Thus realizing his own 
weakness as common to fallible man, he 
brought out in his intercourse with men 
all that was best in them, and when others 

201 



202 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

called attention to their faults, his reply so 
often was, '^Poor humanity,'' which ex- 
pressed, as we well knew, his broad charity 
and his sympathy with human weakness. 
Certain traits were abhorrent to him. He 
intuitively recoiled from meanness, bullying, 
deceit, narrow-mindedness, and coarseness. 

Two friendships formed in early hfe 
were a source of happiness and benefit to 
him in many ways, and were unsevered until 
the life-line went out of reach. 

The friends were Lieutenant Josiah Tatt- 
nall and Mr. Siday Hawes of England. A 
letter or two from his English friend prove 
his value as an intimate. Paulding often 
said that his friend, Mr. Hawes, who was a 
man of letters and of high culture, had 
imbued him with his love for all that was 
best in life and literature. 

In 1818 we find the name of an officer of 
the same rank and age associated with 
Paulding at the time of the fitting out of the 
Macedonian, and from that date to the last 
days of these two men the friendship with 
Josiah Tattnall was an element of happiness 
in the lives of both. An indication of the 
friendship was seen in the naming of their 
sons for each other, Paulding Tattnall and 
Tattnall Paulding. Among the treasured 



FRIENDSHIPS 203 

letters are many from Tattnall, and the 
subjoined extract from Paulding's sketch 
of his friend, found among his papers, shows 
how true and sincere was the feeling which 
at the last becomes almost pathetic. 

''In the reminiscences of the past, now 
that I have grown old, I recall, with a dear 
recollection, the possession of a friend. 
None but those whose being has been so 
closely allied to that of another man as to 
feel that what was dear to the one found a 
sympathetic pulsation in the heart of another 
can realize the affection that I gave and that 
I received from my honorable, gentle, gen- 
erous, and brave friend, Josiah Tattnall. 
I have never known what merit I possessed 
in his estimation that secured to me his 
friendship, but for myself I can say that I 
was in love with his chaste and pure cast 
of character, his high-toned and chivalric 
honor, his generosity and gentleness to all 
humanity, his joyous, guileless playfulness 
with his friends, and, when there seemed 
occasion for an exhibition of sterner man- 
hood, his unflinching nerve that knew no 
fear. We were young officers of the Navy 
when we first met, about the year 1817, and 
from that time until we had both reached 
the highest rank known to our Navy were 



204 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

more or less associated officially or socially 
until the end — of this chapter — not to be 
named. 

^'In the summer of 1818 the frigate Mace- 
donian, then at the Navy Yard in Boston, 
was prepared for a cruise in the Pacific 
Ocean, and Tattnall and myself were ordered 
as two of the youngest Ueutenants. While 
the ship was getting ready, we were quite at 
leisure to amuse ourselves in our own way, 
and there I became more and more in love 
with his charming traits of personal char- 
acter. Our apartments were together. We 
held our social gatherings in the middle of 
the day, at which time all our young friends 
were assembled to bandy wit and jest and 
fun, and in no such gathering of youth 
could the elements of courtesy and kind- 
ness be more essentially displayed — and 
to no one were we so much indebted for our 
happy hours as to our young Georgian 
Lieutenant. We sailed in September, were 
wrecked in a hurricane, repaired in Norfolk 
and, passing Cape Horn, arrived at Valparaiso 
in Chile about the month of May. There, 
at the time, was a fleet preparing to invade 
Peru, then in possession of Spain. The fleet 
was conmaanded by Lord Cochrane of Great 
Britain, whose officers were of his national- 



FRIENDSHIPS 205 

ity. We had no great good-will toward 
them.'' 

Then follows an account of the social 
passages at arms that would naturally result 
on the meeting of those whose official rela- 
tions recently had been those of hostility, 
and, after a cruise up and down the coast, 
their term of duty being over, the two 
young men returned to the United States 
and were for a time together at Partridge's 
Academy, after which they both made a 
cruise in Commodore Porter's squadron, 
prepared for the suppression of piracy in the 
West Indies. When Tattnall was married, 
Paulding was his groomsman. When they 
had attained the rank that gave them sepa- 
rate commands, their meetings were less fre- 
quent, mainly social and domestic ones at 
the respective homes. 

Again I quote from '' Reminiscence": 
^'In his domestic life no father could be 
more kind or indulgent, and among his 
friends he was generous to a fault, and 
genial to a charm. He was highly edu- 
cated, well read, with a retentive memory and 
a vigorous mind. Temperate in eating and 
drinking, it seemed to give him the most 
exquisite pleasure to contribute in every 
way to the enjoyment of his friends, regard- 



206 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

less of personal sacrifice or inconvenience 
to himself. In these attributes, as a man of 
sensitive honor and a scrupulous gentleman, 
I have never known his equal, and I say 
this after an intimate association through 
youth and mature manhood. Under a sense 
of wrong or open defiance he was impetu- 
ous and fearless. I pass over a period of 
professional life and arrive at a time painful 
to recall. He was an intensely Southern 
man in his feehngs, although, as a boy, 
educated in England. His father and 
grandfather had hved in Savannah, whwe 
they were greatly beloved, and he and his 
older brother. Col. Edward Tattnall, the 
last of their race, had always been caressed 
by the people of Savannah, and in Georgia, 
where the name was a household word. 

'^ During the holidays between 1860 and 
1861 my life-long friend made me a visit of 
a number of days. The aspect of public 
affairs was so threatening as to bring to me 
a conviction that a rebellion was at hand. 
I had many conversations with my friend, 
begging and imploring him to stand by the 
old flag. At times, I hoped to have suc- 
ceeded and indulged in the delusion that I 
should do so — going with him from my 
house to the Astor House in New York, where 



FRIENDSHIPS 207 

at that time we found many ardent Southern 
men who inflamed his Southern feeUng, and 
we parted, he to his station at Sackett's 
Harbor and I to my home on Long Island. 
It was not long after this that I received a 
brief note saying he was going the next day 
to Washington to resign and go South. It 
was a great grief to the Navy, where he was 
greatly beloved. 

'^ Soon after the war was ended, I was pass- 
ing in Broadway and near the Astor House 
recognized my old friend. My salutation 
was, ^What is this old Rebel doing here?' 

"We were both much changed during the 
four or five years of painful excitement. I 
prevailed upon him to go home with me, 
where my family received him as though the 
long interval of separation were not remem- 
bered. He spent a few days with me and 
we parted forever, with an occasional inter- 
change of a few lines. The dear old friend 
returned to Savannah and a few years later 
passed away.'' 

Recently the Admiral's eldest son, Tatt- 
nall Paulding, visited the grave of his 
father's dearest friend near Savannah, 
Georgia, a beautiful spot and lovingly 
cared for by the townspeople who were 
devoted to him. 



208 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

An interesting sketch of Commodore 
Tattnall's life was published in Savannah in 
1878. 

Another old and tried friend was Mr. 
Siday Hawes, an Englishman. Letters from 
him as early as 1823 were found among 
Paulding's papers. They only met occa- 
sionally after the first friendship of the early 
years, but the correspondence never flagged 
until the last long illness came in 1863, and 
at the age of seventy-four he passed away. 

During Paulding's early service in the 
Mediterranean he chanced, when visiting 
Athens with some of his brother officers, to 
find a young artist sketching some of the 
ruins there. They got into conversation 
and presently the young people all went off 
together. Long years after this, the artist, 
then a gray-haired man, the late celebrated 
Professor Morse, came to the New York 
Navy Yard to visit his old friend, and 
brought to the Commodore's daughters the 
unfinished sketch of the Athenian ruin as a 
souvenir of his first meeting with their 
father. The accompanying photograph of 
Paulding is from one taken by Brady, 
enlarged and colored by a son of the pro- 
fessor, Mr. Charles Morse, who gave it to 
Mrs. Paulding. 





' ■' -' ' limiff-ftrlfiff ^^ i •• ■■■■ 




itTlto 






' '' >''■=•« 




^1^^H| 









Hiram Paulding 

Rear- Admiral, U.S. N. 

1862 

From a photograph by Brady. Enlarged and painted in oila by 
Charles Morse 



FRIENDSHIPS 209 

From Siday Hawes, Esq., to H. Paulding: 

COLTISHALL, NORFOLK, ENGLAND, 

June 1, 1824. 
My dear Friend: I hope this will find you well and 
happy. I am happy as far as I am well and as long; 
but my health is checkered by some dark spots. Were 
it not for this, I should be too happy but there is some- 
thing of this sort for all of us. On the whole, through 
life I have had nineteen happy days out of every twenty. 
And who can say more? There is a favorite prayer by 
Johnson in verse which strikes my mind when I feel 
a stupor coming on. Here it is: 

"0 Thou, whose power o'er moving worlds presides; 
Whose voice created and whose wisdom guides; 
On darkling man in pure effulgence shine 
And cheer the clouded mind with light divine. 
From Thee, great God, we rise, to Thee we tend, 
Path, Motive, Guide, Original and End." 

I trust I shall in time grow over it. Employment 
is the grand secret of happiness, and indifference is 
destructive to it. Our poet, Byron, is lately dead. He 
was a singular instance of a superior man who seemed 
to care for nothing, he felt no interest in anything, 
unhappy man. Talents, learning, rank, wealth, fame, 
all would not do, he never seems to have known 
happiness. 

"When all within is peace. 
How nature seems to smile." 

But I must not quote any more poetry. This 
country is in a prosperous state, but in the race of 
national prosperity the United States beats all the 



210 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

world. Go on and prosper and be a beacon of 
light to the rest of the world. England, bad as 
her commercial policy has been, is now retracing 
her steps. Our Parliament has thrown open the 
wool and silk trades, our corn laws will follow. 
Some hundreds of laws have been repealed, and 
hundreds more will be, which were made in times 
of ignorance. Our Ministry does as much as the 
country will bear, yet we are so full of absurdities that 
a century will not clear them away. Altogether I am 
sorry to see America carrying farther the old system of 
"protecting duties." It is quite a mistake. Were the 
principle carried to its utmost extent, it would put an 
end to all foreign commerce. 

The North American Review, an excellent work, has 
well argued this question. Now you are in Chile, 
ascertain, if you can, the existence or non-existence of 
the "zuemul" or "huemul," described by MoHna as a 
kind of horse with divided hoofs. He says it hves in 
the most inaccessible part of the Andes. Cuvier says 
there can be no such animal. Some other naturahsts 
have doubted it, but so they did the existence of some 
animals in New Holland till they saw them, as the duck- 
billed otter. Tell me, too, about the Chilean horses. 
Come and see me, Paulding, when you can. I will do 
all I can to show you this island. 

Ever yours, 

(Signed) S. Hawes, Jr. 

CoLTiSHALL, NORFOLK, May 4, 1825. 
My dear Fellow: Your letter of October last gave 
me very great pleasure. The mighty ocean and a 
vast continent are between us, yet by a privilege of our 
being we still hold friendly converse. 



FRIENDSHIPS 211 

You give an account of those Peruvians which 
would damp many a man who is full of ardent hopes 
for the rising hberties of South America, yet I believe 
and know it to be just. They may be independent, but 
it is not the work of a day to be free. A degraded and 
ignorant population must be long in gaining that moral 
force which a true repubhc should have. I have 
seen many a man so disappointed by what he saw 
in Buenos Ayres that he swore they never could be 
free. But that is going too far the other way. God 
help them all. "Knowledge is power," says Lord 
Bacon, and it will in time be the only power. 

We are terribly behind in England as to what we 
should be, not as compared with any nation on the 
continent of Europe. But political economy, the 
science of the day, is revolutionizing the world. I 
hope, my friend, you study this science and wish I 
were near enough to send you some of the best works 
on it. Our best writers. Smith, Ricardo, and Mill; and 
in the supplement to the " Encyclopsedia Brittanica" 
is much admirable matter. By this science we see 
that the interests of nations do not clash, that nature 
has given different gifts to different nations, and that 
commerce need dread no rival. The richer our cus- 
tomers are, the better for us. I look forward with 
strong hope to the advance of mankind in civilization 
and consequent happiness, nor can a few adverse cir- 
cumstances frighten me out of that hope. 

France is going back, Spain is in misery, cursed 
with kingcraft and priestcraft, but in spite of the 
"Holy Alliance" the rest of Europe is advancing, and 
a reaction must take place of the many against the few 
who now grind them into the earth. The literatiu-e 
of Spain is worth nothing, priestcraft has destroyed it. 



212 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

Cervantes is admirable, Calderon I cannot think much 
of, Moratin is a beautiful comic writer full of native 
talent, Melendez is a poet of rather high class, but 
a want of freedom is a want of everything. What a 
happy thing it is that we have both one language. 
England flourishes beyond all precedent, we have an 
excellent Ministry who do all they can though our 
aristocracy holds them back. I am pretty well and 
retain my fondness for travelling. I suppose I shall 
never be quite settled till married. When that takes 
place you shall hear all about it from 

Your affectionate friend, 

(Signed) S. Hawes, Junk. 

ADMIRAL JOSEPH SMITH 

This little sketch of his friend, by Ad- 
miral Paulding, shows his estimate of him. 

"In M. Tooney's contemplated record of public 
men the name of Rear-Admiral Smith received a pass- 
ing notice, and I would respectfully presume to make 
my contribution of my knowledge of this gentleman 
from early life. He served as a lieutenant on board 
the Brig Eagle, the second vessel of force, in the fleet of 
Commodore McDonough, in the battle of Lake Cham- 
plain in 1814; was wounded and taken below and when 
his wounds were dressed, went to his guns — against the 
remonstrance of the surgeon — and fought them imtil 
the enemy's fleet surrendered. Subsequent to that 
he was left in command on the lake. After the war, 
passing through all the grades in the Navy, he was 
assigned to the Bureau of Yards and Docks, where the 
War of the Rebellion found him. His duties became 



FRIENDSHIPS 213 

manifold, by the requirements that followed. It is 
no disparagement to say that no civilian could dis- 
charge the duties that devolved upon the Navy 
Department at this interesting crisis, and no greater 
boon could have been bestowed upon it than the 
splendid qualifications possessed by Rear-Admiral, 
then Captain, Smith. 

"It will be remembered by the public men of that 
trying period of our history that we had but few ships 
and all the departments of the Government were 
filled with traitors; and treason was rampant in all the 
surroundings. Our veteran was at the threshold at 
this crisis, quick, self-possessed, and full of knowledge. 
His duties were various and onerous. He had not only 
to decide in regard to the building of ironclads and 
other ships, take direction in the purchase and equip- 
ment, with all the paraphernalia, of dock yards, but 
financially he had to decide in regard to expenses, and 
adjust accounts of contractors and others, to the 
amount of fabulous sums, with a record, at the close 
of the war, of unblemished fame and a character for 
intelligence and high honor unsurpassed. 

" In the midst of all the Admiral's labors — for he 
was promoted for distinguished service — his son, Joseph, 
a very promising officer, had been left in command of 
the frigate Cumberland when assailed by the ironclad 
Merrimac, and his ship was sunk — going down T\ath 
her flag flying, young Smith calling to his gallant crew 
to 'Give her a last broadside,' as the waters closed 
over the muzzles of her guns, officers and men. Admi- 
ral Smith is now upward of eighty and, with the excep- 
tion of some physical infirmities incident to his years, 
is strong and well and, as it is with him now, is equal to 
the performance of any ministerial duties that belong 



214 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

to his profession, and would be invaluable to the naval 
service in the Navy Department. 

(Signed) H. Paulding." 

Letter from Commodore Joseph Smith: 

Washington, D. C, 
Dec. 24, 1861. 

My dear Commodore: Yours of the 22d has but tliis 
moment come to hand. The style and eloquence of 
your letter shows it to be a Sunday production. I have 
to write with parties buzzing all sorts of gimcracks in 
my ears. 

B. says he will have his vessel ready in thirty days. 
Ericsson's will be ready in that time. The appropria- 
tion of $12,000,000 for ironclad vessels will be absorbed 
in twenty gunboats, but of 2000 tons each. I had no 
voice, lot, or control in these, but before they go ahead I 
would advise that the turret of Ericsson be first tried, 
as I am somewhat skeptical of its performance, tho' 
I recommended it as an experiment. The twenty gun- 
boats are to have these turrets, but not exactly on 
Ericsson's plan, and not as good a plan as his in my 
humble judgment. 

The Frenchman's propeller is about ready if you 
know how near about means. In ten days she will be 
at Hampton Roads for Goldsboro to operate with, if 
anything appears to be operated upon. Your reasons 
for eschewing hybrid patriots are good. Your flow of 
patriotism is well supported by your view of the aspect 
of our affairs. The horizon portends heavy squalls, 
but there is a silver hning to the blackest clouds and I 
trust the sun may yet sliine upon us and descend in full 
splendor over our United States. . . . We will prepare 



FRIENDSHIPS 215 

as well as we can, but we have to strain every nerve to 
meet the exigencies of the times and the first act of 
Congress in that direction is to put sixty or seventy 
officers ringed, speckled and striped, all on the retired 
list, then call upon them as such as they want to serve, 
and it may be under a junior. This is a bad and 
unwise stroke of policy at this time, I think. 
Yours truly, 

In haste, 
(Signed) Jos. Smith. 

To Admiral Paulding, 
Huntingon, L. I. 

Washington, D. C, 
June 24, 74. 

My dear Admiral: Your good letter of the 21st is at 
hand. Your letter is, as usual, full of good sentiments; 
you take events as they come and make the best of 
what occurs to us. We are verging toward the ter- 
minus of our earthly career. What next, we are in 
ignorance of. Nobody has returned of those departed 
to give us tidings of the future. " To err is human," 
and we are born to error, more or less, but let us hope 
our future may be happy and beg for forgiveness of all 
our shortcomings here. I purpose, God willing, to leave 
here on Monday next for South Duxbury. I cannot 
agreeably pass the hot season here. Though very lame 
I attended Shubrick's funeral. He was a good speci- 
men of an officer and an honest man. Shubrick and 
myself were born in the same year. He lived to be the 
oldest officer and I am left as an old sentinel for a 
short time, not a remarkable character, only one that 
fate has decided to keep so long on the list. 

I do not admire the status of our national affairs 



216 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

much, but hope on for improvement. Congress as 
usual has spent seven months in doing its work, and 
at the last days of a session goes it blind on many 
subjects. I regret that our Navy is not in a more 
flourishing condition. We have no commerce, foreign- 
ers do all our carrying trade, and sailors have become 
scarce. We must do something to make a Navy or 
our prestige as a commercial nation will die out. 
Now, my dear old friend, I must stop. My daughter 
and niece join me in love to you and yours. 

(Signed) Jos. Smith. 

Letters from his friend of Kalmia Cottage, 
the Hon. C. C. Cambreleng, show the touch 
of comradeship of a country neighbor who, 
after a long political life in the capitals of 
different countries, found happiness in his 
simple life on West Neck. 

Huntington, Nov., 1845. 

(After giving a hopeful view of the stocking of the 
fish pond, and the condition of the oyster-beds, he tells 
of a "hop" given at liis house, and of a trip across the 
island to Babylon, whence he returned, "with a goodly 
supply of ducks, redheads, brant, teal, partridges, and 
quail.") 

During all these merriments we have the most 
extraordinary and beautiful weather. Such spring, 
summer, and fall you never witnessed. Some, in the 
north, have had two crops of strawberries, and many 
of our trees lost their leaves and began to bud again. 

In politics we are quite quiet. Ten days ago, one 
half of both parties did not know there was any elec- 
tion going on. 



FRIENDSHIPS 217 

Our last accounts from Mexico authorize us to 
believe she is willing to open negotiations again, settle 
boundaries, indemnities, etc., so that you will not have a 
chance for the present to make a conquest of California 
nor show your epaulettes in the Hall of the Montezumas. 
Oregon seems, however, to be rising like a black cloud. 
At present it is only talk, but by and by, unless other 
events should intervene, it may be something worse. 
There has been and continues to be a great deal of 
undignified bluster on both sides, but war is a contin- 
gency that the ministers of neither country would desire 
to bring about, however unimportant it may seem to our 
Western roarers. For the next two or three months you 
may expect to hear a great deal about it, especially 
when Congress begins to play " Nick Bottom." 

Everything on West Neck moves on as usual. . . . 
We are all well and my wife desires her sincere 
regards. 

Yr. friend, 

c. c. c. 

In 1848 he writes: 

"You will have learned probably before this reaches 
you, that you will soon find a new lord high admiral at 
the helm of affairs, whom, if I am not mistaken, his 
friends will find as difficult to control as the Mexicans 
did on the Rio Grande. A man who stands to be shot 
at, for two days and almost two nights, as he did at 
Buena Vista, will not easily yield his opinions to poli- 
ticians around him. He may and, I think, will do much 
good, but from the circumstances under which he is 
elected and the hostile materials. North and South, of 
which his Cabinet will probably be composed much har- 
mony cannot be expected. If he permits slavery to be 



218 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

introduced into New Mexico and California, placed 
under our protection by the fortune of war, and where, 
too, it has been abolished, he will ruin the Whigs in 
the free States, but I am not going too far ahead. 

"You speak in your letters of your trip through 
Germany, but you do not say anything of the old wine 
cellar at Bremen, the butt of 120 pipes' capacity, nor 
of the bodies so remarkably preserved in the cellar of 
the old church. I was once in Bremen myself. 

" What with the election, B — being busy and S — 
away, I have had very little sport fishing this summer 
— so, shorten your cruise, come home and enjoy real 
life with us, and give way to some one anxious to com- 
mand a fine ship like the St. Lawrence. 

(Signed) Your friend, 

C. C. Cambreleng." 



CHAPTER XI 

THE SAILOR AT HOME 

A DIGRESSION from the official record of 
his long and faithful service may not be inop- 
portune here as we glance at the personality 
of the boy and man, midshipman, and mature 
officer. In his youth there was little prom- 
ise of the sturdy physical manhood which 
subsequently developed, and when he first 
reported for duty, his appearance was such 
as to indicate little ability to long endure 
the severe exposure of a sailor's life. He 
used to relate that shortly after joining his 
first ship he heard one of his brother mid- 
shipmen remark to another, ^^That fellow 
Paulding won't be able to stand it long; he 
looks half dead now." He had attained 
height without breadth and had outgrown 
his strength. On reaching mature man- 
hood, this disproportion disappeared, his 
frame had expanded in proper proportion 
to his height of six feet two inches. Straight 
as an arrow, and of manner most attractive, 

219 



220 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

he possessed a presence rarely excelled. His 
face indicated that strength of character 
which his promptness of action constantly 
illustrated in the many trying situations in 
which he was placed, while a mild blue eye 
told truly of a feeling and gentleness almost 
womanly in its sympathy for misfortune 
and sorrow. In charge of the deck, as exec- 
utive officer, or in command of the ship, he 
was a strict disciplinarian, but when off 
duty no one could be more unaffected or 
genial. 

I have in my memory two pictures of this 
strong man — one, as the officer in command 
in perfect uniform, dignified and formal in 
manner, unapproachable except on matters 
of duty; the other, when off duty, on his 
farm, in an old Panama hat and brown 
linen coat, welcoming with hearty hand- 
shake some visiting neighbor or old ship- 
mate. His mind was eminently judicial, 
and in the controversies constantly arising 
on shipboard his decisions were always just 
and unprejudiced. The government of a 
man-of-war, when properly conducted, is 
that of a limited monarchy. It may reach 
the verge of a despotism, or, in approaching 
other extremes, a license may be permitted, 
more dangerous and quite as unhappy in its 



THE SAILOR AT HOME 221 

effects upon those whose fortunes have 
made them, for the time being, a part of this 
Httle kingdom. The ships which Paulding 
commanded were always in a high state of 
efficiency, and prepared for any service that 
might be required, and the community was 
a happy one. 

One of the younger officers thus speaks of 
him: ^'Of stalwart frame and connnanding 
presence, he combined with dignity of mien 
and courtliness of address the greater dig- 
nity of intellect, and though he was always a 
strict disciplinarian, his was a kindly, benev- 
olent manner, irresistibly attractive to all 
seamen who ever came in contact with him. 
His officers and men universally admired 
and respected him, and, though a man of 
most positive views and character, it is not 
known that in a long professional career of 
sixty-seven years he ever had a single per- 
sonal enemy in the service. " 

And if we turn to the Captain off duty, 
in his home we see there what might be 
termed a restful activity in the simple life 
on his Long Island farm, surrounded by his 
friends. 

In 1828 occurred Paulding's marriage 
to Miss Anne Maria Kellogg, of Flatbush, 
Long Island, which was a most happy one. 



222 LIFE OF AlRAM PAULDING 

Well educated by her father, who was a 
graduate of Yale College, of attractive per- 
sonality and charming character, he found 
in her, although she was ten years his junior, 
always a congenial and intelligent companion, 
and a veritable ^ ^helpmeet." Their first 
home at Flatbush was made happier by the 
presence of his sister Susan, whose home 
was at last with her loved brother, and some 
happy years were passed there. 

His sketch of the Liberator, ^'Bolivar in 
his Camp," and the ^'Journal of the Cruise 
in the Dolphin" were published in 1834, 
when orders to sea took him from home, 
and some years were spent in the Mediter- 
ranean on the Constellation and in com- 
mand of the Shark. During his absence 
in 1832 that fell scourge, cholera, appeared 
in Flatbush, and his sister Susan was 
one of the first victims. A stone in the 
old Presbyterian churchyard in Flatbush 
tells the sad story; and when, not long after, 
his second daughter, the Httle Susan, died 
of scarlet fever, his wife could not endure 
the desolated home, and with her eldest 
child left Flatbush and spent some time 
among her friends on Staten Island while 
waiting for her husband to return from sea 
and choose a permanent abode. 



I 



THE SAILOR AT HOME 223 

About thirty miles from New York, on 
the north shore of Long Island, there are three 
land-locked harbors, their shores well wooded 
or under full cultivation, as the case may 
be. Two lighthouses guard the entrance to 
this peaceful retreat, which is well known to 
all coasters seeking shelter. Here, with a 
sailor's fondness for plenty of room, on 
West Neck, near Huntington, Paulding 
purchased a farm of some hundred acres or 
more from Mr. Samuel Bradhurst, and with 
his wife and little daughter established his 
home in 1837. This home, with its happy 
traditions of sixty years, is a spot loved and 
honored by friends and neighbors far and 
near; and here, when public duties were 
over, he found a haven of rest; the sailor 
turned gardener or farmer, and delighted 
in all that a country life could give, super- 
intending the cultivation of his farm with 
as much interest and intelligence as though 
it were his only profession. 

Few country places can boast a better class 
of farming people than were established in 
this part of the island, and the relations with 
his neighbors were always of that pleasant 
kind that gave little anxiety for the safety 
and comfort of his family when the sailor 
was absent from home on his long cruises. 



224 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

The original house was a frame building 
with a wing on one end, and later, another 
wing was added, giving ample room for a 
family of six children who considered it an 
earthly paradise. It was a cheerful, bright 
spot, well shaded in summer, and the out- 
look from the front of the house gave three 
glimpses of the dancing water of harbor 
and mill-pond. A road, passing the home, 
led through the woods to a beautiful stretch 
of pebbly beach extending half a mile or 
more toward Bouton's Point. 

Fruit of every kind flourished on the 
farm, and Paulding took pride in having 
everything that farm and garden could 
produce of the best. 

During his long cruises the devoted wife 
and mother kept at her post, directed every- 
thing as he would have it, and entered into 
all his interests with heartiness and intel- 
ligence. Few children ever found in a 
father a more congenial companion and 
playfellow; he encouraged their confidence 
and delighted in their presence and happi- 
ness. 

A reminiscence written by one of his 
children will perhaps show better than any 
dry detail how he was regarded by them 
and how he kept himself young and cheer- 



THE SAILOR AT HOME 225 

ful even until old age robbed him of his 
activity: 

^'I imagine that few military men have 
taken the place in their homes and families 
that our dear father took. When freed from 
official duty his dearly loved home greeted 
him as the supreme crowning genius of it all, 
and he was so loving and patient with us. 

"When lessons were over, we followed him 
everjrwhere, and a beauty and delight were 
thrown over all the common things of every 
day. With the great Newfoundland dog 
at our side, the walks through the woods, 
over the farm, and on the beach with him 
were a never-ending delight. His mind was 
stored with poetry that he would quote 
as occasion called it up — Milton, Byron, 
Shakespeare, Campbell, and Pope all have 
their association with him in those early 
days. Or he would tell us wonderful stories 
of the lands beyond the sea, and of the 
people living there, and of the birds, trees, 
animals, and fish of other countries. 

"Our own home, our beautiful 'Peach 
Blossom/ was fairy-land enough when it was 
clothed in the springtime with showers of 
white and pink bloom. The birds loved the 
old place, too. Robins and chippies built 
in the honeysuckles on the piazza, and the 



226 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

orioles hung their nests in the great smoke- 
trees in front of the house. The catbirds 
helped us eat the strawberries and cherries, 
but there were always enough for all, and 
Father allowed no shooting on the place 
lest it should drive away our song-birds from 
their homes. When the winter came and 
the fun of the autumn harvest was over, 
then came the sleighing and coasting and the 
setting of traps for quail and rabbits, and 
our playfellow was the leader in all the 
jollity, with his clear, ringing, hearty laugh. 
I think now I can hear him as he called 
through the woods to us with his 'Poo- 
coo ' — a sound he must have learned to 
make when among the islands of the Pacific 
— I never heard it elsewhere. 

^'We had kindly, pleasant neighbors, and 
they were all his friends — from Northport 
to Oyster Bay. Emerson says, 'To have a 
friend, one must be a friend, ' and the Good 
Book has a saying much Hke it. It was 
exemplified here, for in all the country 
round, the homes seemed to smile back at 
him. His life was always simple at home. 
He had no desire for notoriety, and, although 
when on official duty he mingled freely with 
the highest dignitaries everywhere and was 
the guest of princes and the friend and inti- 



THE SAILOR AT HOME 227 

mate of the best and wisest, he was equally 
accessible and friendly to all who sought his 
acquaintance or were in need of his aid. 
His idea of fraternal regard for all made him 
the friend of high and low, wise and ignorant. 
He learned something from all, and few left 
him without feeling that the hour spent in 
his society had not been lost. 

^^We never thought of disobeying him — 
for with all his humor and brightness his 
dignity never forsook him. With his clear 
head and sound judgment we always felt 
that his decisions were just and right. He 
never feared to assume responsibility where 
it was necessary, but where it was possible 
he was tolerant of the views of others, and 
would rather convince than compel. His 
broad charity led him to view with patience 
the mistakes and blunders of others, great 
as might be his indignation at the unfor- 
tunate results. His was a buoyant temper- 
ament, taking a cheerful and hopeful view 
of everything, and ready for fun, but he had 
a horror of practical jokes, and of puns, 
which he characterized as 'the lowest order 
of wit,' and he would not tolerate the use 
of 'slang' by any member of his family. 
He disliked quarreling and discussion, and 
when one of us would go to him with a story 



228 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

of some petty wrong, how often I have 
heard him say, ' Life is too short for contro- 
versy/ There were occasions when he 
felt an injustice had been done to him and 
to those he protected; then he was not slow 
to take every just means to right the 
wrong/' 

Huntington, one of the oldest villages on 
the Island, was a place of interest during the 
War of the Revolution, British as well as 
American troops having been quartered 
there. At one time there was a British 
encampment on the old burying-ground in 
the village, the soldiers using the tombstones 
for making ovens to bake their bread. And 
the Episcopal Church, built by the English 
S. P. G. during the reign of Queen Anne, 
was riddled with bullets fired at troops who 
had taken refuge there. ^ On the opposite 
side of the harbor lies East Neck, where 
the patriot, Nathan Hale, was captured by 
British troops. A stone marks the place of 
his capture and recalls his brave deed. 

Here on East Neck several gentlemen 
of independent means had their homes: Dr. 
Thomas Ward, Dr. Rhinelander, Capt. Wil- 
liam Stout, and others made a pleasant co- 
terie; and Cold Spring, Northport and Oyster 

iSee "Old Times in Huntington," by H. C. Piatt. 



THE SAILOR AT HOME 229 

Bay held neighbors whose friendship was 
valued. The Hon. C. C. Cambreleng, once 
minister to Russia, tired of his busy politi- 
cal life, brought his charming, attractive 
wife and built a pretty cottage on the 
property he purchased adjoining the Paul- 
ding farm. They were devoted to their 
^'Kalmia Cottage," and were a great social 
acquisition. The old gentleman was fond 
of fishing and often he and his friend, Martin 
Van Buren, would join their neighbor and 
sit for hours on the mill-dam, fishing for 
bluefish. The old mill was a picturesque 
and an active place in those days, presided 
over by Mr. Jarvis Lefferts, a dignified, 
handsome man, with kindly smile, ruddy 
face, and snow-white hair, and while the 
droning sound of the busy wheels mingled with 
the murmur of the wind in the locust trees, 
and the sunbeams glinted and danced in 
the mill-pond and the harbor beyond, care 
flew away and a restful quiet made the old 
men young again. Now all is changed. 
The mill is silent, and a causeway stretches 
over the place where the fishermen sat. 
The good friend, Jarvis Lefferts, and his sailor 
neighbor were long since laid to rest near each 
other in the cemetery on the hill. A great 
block of granite surmounted by an anchor 



230 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

with the names and dates and the verse, 
'^The memory of the just is blessed/' marks 
the sailor's resting-place, and beside it is the 
stone for ^'Mother," with the words, ^'Her 
children rise up and call her blessed. " And 
on the miller's monument hard by is a 
garnered sheaf — the full corn in the ear. 
Many happy years, however, intervened 
between these early days on the farm and 
the year 1878, when the final resting-time 
came. 

Mrs. Paulding survived her husband 
fourteen years, living with her children in 
the home she had helped to make. The 
subjoined extract is from the local news- 
paper at the time of Mrs. Paulding's death: 

"Mrs. Paulding passed her useful life 
managing the affairs of the farm during the 
Admiral's long cruises abroad with rare 
skill and ability, training and educating a 
large family to the higher duties of life and 
bestowing blessing and sunshine upon all 
with whom she was thrown in contact. 
Absolute truthfulness and unselfishness, 
together with untiring energy, were promi- 
nent traits of her character. As loving 
wife, devoted mother, and faithful friend she 
has fulfilled the highest mission of life. She 
has gone to her rest mourned by all who 



THE SAILOR AT HOME 231 

knew her. ^Her children rise up and call 
her blessed/ '' 

The farm was sold in 1904, the Kalmia 
property having long before passed into 
other hands. The beautiful beach, the 
favorite walk of the elder members of the 
family and the playground of the children 
of three generations, is still there, but all 
else is changed, and as the waves on the 
beach have effaced the footprints, so time 
with its merciless advance is quietly wiping 
out the old life and traditions of that portion 
of ^^West Neck." They live only in the 
hearts of those who remember the old days. 
Still the influence of these brave, earnest, 
faithful lives has not died out, nor will so 
long as their children live to uphold it. 



CHAPTER XII 

EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 

The quiet life on the farm was not of long 
duration. From the time of Lincoln's 
election, threats and mutterings indicated 
the danger of civil war. Everywhere a feel- 
ing of unrest prevailed. In the spring of 
1861 Commodore Paulding was ordered 
on court-martial duty in Washington, and 
after the 4th of March, when Lincoln's 
inauguration developed more and more the 
sectional feeling among Southern men, 
officers of unquestioned loyalty were called 
to the aid of Mr. Welles, Secretary of the 
Navy, and in the Bureau of Detail, to the 
charge of which Commodore Paulding was 
assigned, duty most distasteful had to be 
discharged. Events crowded rapidly one 
upon another, and such necessity for prompt 
action as almost to exhaust the strength of 
even these vigorous men before the summer 
was over. 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 233 

The Commodore's eldest son, Tattnall, 
who had been with him as secretary during 
his command of the Home Squadron, was 
established in business in New York. On 
the 19th of April, when the safety of the 
national capital was endangered, this son 
hastened to his father's side, accompanying 
the New York 7th Regiment. Seeing after 
a time that war was inevitable, he joined 
the 6th U. S. Cavalry, in which a commission 
was offered him, and gallantly sustained 
his part until the end of the war, being 
brevet ted lieutenant-colonel in 1866. 

Until September Commodore Paulding's 
duties held him at the Bureau of Detail, 
Navy Department, through that stormy, 
disheartening summer, when brave and 
loyal hearts sickened at the widespread 
confusion, the defection of many who held 
positions of trust, the wavering supineness 
in some cases, lack of promptness in others, 
and the general lack of preparation to repel 
treacherous invasion. But his associates 
in the special duty assigned him were stanch 
men and true, among them preeminently his 
old comrade in the Pacific cruise, Admiral — 
then Captain — Charles Davis, of whom he 
was very fond. Captain Maxwell Wood- 
hull was also with him. A few letters will 



234 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

best illustrate the conditions prevailing at 
the time. 

Letter from a loyal naval officer of Vir- 
ginia: 

Washington, Nov. 14th, 1860. 
My dear Commodore: Your very pleasant letter came 
safely to hand and afforded me much gratification, as 
yom- letters always do, and especially to know that you 
are well and hearty, and your family well and prosperous. 
The fine season for the farmer has bestowed its bless- 
ings upon you, for which I congratulate you. May it 
always be so. I begin to envy you and our Northern 
neighbors the tranquil happiness of quiet homes. It is 
not so with our people. Fear cometh upon our people 

— deep and angry passions surge up, and revolution 
is upon us. We are no longer the happy United States 

— the wonder of the world — and the pride of thirty 
millions of the most prosperous people this world ever 
knew — gone, gone, gone, and none so base to do them 
honor. 

I could tell you much to interest you if you could 
credit the relation. But you, who, like myself, would 
lay down your life for our imperial nationality, would 
be utterly incredulous, and therefore I shall refrain. 
Suffice it, there is no longer in fact, though there be in 
form, a United States. The Government will take no 
measures of a hostile coercive nature against the States 
who withdraw — and several of them are so arranged. 
The President-elect will take none. And they are 
determined never to come back. I do not credit so 
great an evil. I will never give up the ship as long as 
the flag floats — but I am not blind and the event is so 
sure that God alone can avert it. 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 235 

The assemblage of a National Convention, and the 
abandonment of all hostile legislation, the repeal of 
all laws, by the free States, hostile to the slave property, 
and the peaceful possession thereof anywhere in these 
United States can avert this great calamity. The 
accomplishment of these purposes is a remote chance, 
and just as remote is the reunion of these late United 
States. I give you rehable information. I am 
opposed to this issue at this time, in this way, to the 
death — but the information is as true as I am true 
in my fidelity to God and my whole country. Such 
is the madness and determination of the people south 
of us, that the man who counsels moderation even, is 
lost in reputation and in useful influence. May God 
avert this great plague. I am glad to hear of Martha.^ 
We feel her loss hourly. 

My love to all and God bless you. 

The subjoined letter, written from memo- 
randa made in 1861, explains his course in 
his action at Norfolk, which at the time 
was misunderstood and, by some, severely 
criticized. 

Governor's Office, U. S. Naval Asylum, 
Philadelphia, Jan. 25, 1869. 

Memorandum. 
In February of 1861 I was employed in Washington 
on temporary duty until after the 4th of March. 
Rebelhon and civil war appeared inevitable, and South- 
ern men in the Departments of the Government were 

1 A slave he had freed. When free, she came to Mrs. 
Paulding, who had been kind to her child. 



236 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

Joold and defiant in speech and action. Oflficers filling 
high and responsible positions abandoned their trust 
and went South or Hngered about Washington for their 
own convenience, and some filling high and low places 
were questionable in their loyalty although they 
remained. The atmosphere of Washington seemed to 
be contaminated with treason and there were familiar 
spirits devoted to the Southern cause who had free 
access to the departments where they could obtain 
whatever information it might be desirable to convey 

to their Southern friends. Mr. , who daily 

visited the various rooms of the Navy Department, 
assured me that he felt highly honored in being the 
correspondent of Jefferson Davis. 

It may be inferred that much injury resulted from 
this state of things and not the least was the com- 
munication of our naval signals to the Confederate 
Government. 

Whilst this condition of things prevailed, I was 
invited by the Secretary of the Navy to fill a place 
in the Navy Department which I twice respectfully 
declined and on a third occasion he informed me that 
it was the order of the President that I should do so. 
It therefore became my duty to aid the Secretary 
in putting the Navy afloat and to render whatever 
professional service I could. , 

To one who was zealous in the cause of his country 
no duty could have been less acceptable to a naval 
officer, yet I justly appreciated the trust imposed upon 
me. Congress appropriated a million and a half of 
dollars for the building of ironclad vessels and, as no 
ironclad had ever been built in this country and it was 
necessarily in a great measure experimental, it occa- 
sioned much embarrassment. 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 237 

The Secretary had directed me to assemble the 
chiefs of bureaus to discuss and dispose of this as well 
as other important naval matters. Many models for 
ironclads were presented for our inspection and all 
were set aside with the exception of the Monitor and 
new Ironsides. Without a knowledge of ship-building 
or the construction of ironclads, the officers assembled 
rehed very much upon Mr. Lenthal, the chief of the 
Bureau of Construction, to whom the subject most 
appropriately belonged, and they were not without 
chagrin and disappointment when he declared it was 
not his trade and refused by his silence to give either 
opinion or advice. Without knowledge of building 
ironclads, nothing was left to us to carry out the act of 
Congress but to exercise our judgment in the selection 
of the models and then depend upon the pledges and 
genius of the contracting parties to fulfil their promises. 

The whole responsibility had devolved upon Rear- 
Admiral Joseph Smith and myself. I advocated the 
Monitor because the amount of money appropriated 
would build several such vessels and the time of their 
construction would be much less than of a ship of larger 
size, and I rehed especially upon the genius and pledges 
of Ericsson, whilst the Admiral claimed for the new 
Ironsides greater power. In conclusion the Admiral 
and myself compromised and we determined to build 
the Monitor and new Ironsides. The history of both 
vessels is known to the Navy and the country. 

In April, 1861, after an unsuccessful attempt had 
been made by the Department to get the steamer 
Merrimac, then ready for sea, away from the Navy 
Yard at Norfolk, I was sent by the Secretary of the 
Navy to communicate with Commodore McCauley, 
the Commandant of the Yard, and to instruct him to 



238 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

send the Merrimac to Hampton Roads, to put all 
the small arms on board the frigate Cumberland, and to 
take every precaution for the safety of the pubHc 
property. 

The Cumberland was then lying off the Hospital and 
at my suggestion was moved in front of the Yard. A 
feeble effort was being made to put coal on board the 
Merrimac, and she was lying with her head up stream. 
When I suggested the expediency of putting the coal 
on board more expeditiously and the winding of the 
Merrimac, the reply was that such a movement would 
give offense to the people outside and that no more 
expedition in coaling could be made. With this my 
mission ended and it was my duty to obey my orders 
and return to Washington. 

Before leaving, the officers of the Yard, all of whom 
I knew, sent Commander Richard L. Page to say to me 
that they desired that I should say to the President 
that they would stand by the Conmiodore and defend 
the public property, but that they were all Southern 
men and begged to be relieved by Northern officers. 
Commander Page informed me at the same time that 
he knew Virginia was going out that night and that 
their situation would be very painful. I lost no time 
in returning. The President was in Cabinet meeting 
and when I had made my report and conveyed the 
message of the officers, he said it was reasonable, and 
directed the Secretary of the Navy to have them 
reheved. 

It was too late. Virginia went out, and the next 
day, instead of keeping their promise to stand by the 
Commandant and defend the pubhc property, the 
officers of the Yard abandoned their trust, leaving 
Commodore McCauley alone. When this information 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 239 

was received in Washington I was sent for by the 
Secretary of the Navy and ordered to proceed to 
Norfolk and remove all the ships then equipped and 
the public property that could be moved to a place of 
safety, and to destroy what could not be moved and 
return to Washington with the utmost expedition for 
its defense. This was earnestly enjoined upon me by 
the Secretary of the Navy and the President, and I 
fully understood its importance, knowing at this time 
there were but two hundred and fifty regular troops in 
Washington and they scattered all over the city in 
small detachments. 

At this time there were but two steamers at the Navy 
Yard belonging to the Government. One was the 
Anacostia, a miserable tug that could not turn round in 
much less space than the breadth of the Potomac, with- 
out capacity or any quahty that was necessary for the 
service I was to perform. The Pawnee was the other 
steamer, efficient and ably conomanded. The Anacos- 
tia was assigned to me, which I declined, and only 
obtained the Pawnee upon earnest solicitation and with 
the promise to return with her for the defense of 
Washington at the earliest practicable moment. I 
took on board two hundred marines, the officers neces- 
sary for the ships, and sent to New York for the des- 
patch of seamen and left for Norfolk on the evening 
of the day on which my orders were given. 

In the afternoon of the following day I arrived at 
Fortress Monroe and left about sundown, arriving at 
the Navy Yard some time after dark. The Cumber- 
land was anchored in front of the Yard. Upon enter- 
ing on my duty there I ascertained that the great 
shears of the Yard had been cut away and the ships 
had all been scuttled and had sunk so far that the 



240 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

officers sent to examine them informed me the leak 
could not be stopped. There were neither officers nor 
men to be found in the Yard with the exception of a 
small marine guard, nor could the keys of the work- 
shops be found. 

I could not ascertain by whose order the ships had 
been scuttled or the great shears cut away. When I 
inquired of the Captain of the Cumberland why it had 
been done he replied that batteries were being throun 
up at a short distance from St. Helena. Without the 
purchase of the great shears neither the guns nor any 
other heavy article could be removed, and without the 
ships, now sinking past recovery, there was no means 
of transportation. In these circumstances it appeared 
to me that the only course I could pursue was to burn 
what was left of the sinking ships and "destroy the 
property that could not be taken away." I accordingly 
made my arrangements to do so as expeditiously as I 
could. An effort to break the trunnions of the Dahl- 
gren guns failed. When the preparation was made 
the Pawnee took the Cumberland in tow and when out 
of danger the signal for burning was given. 

I had thus carried out my orders as far as it was 
possible for me to do so and have not been able to under- 
stand how any one having a knowledge of the facts 
could find fault with my proceedings. 

(Signed) H. Paulding. 

Letters from Commodore Paulding from 
Washington in 1861 to his wife: 

March 1st. 

"To-day I had the good fortune to have my bill 
passed in the Senate for Filibuster-law expenses, and 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 241 

the misfortune to have the land stricken out in the 
Nicaragua decree. Besides Seward, the Cabinet will 
consist of Messrs. Bates, Cameron, Chase, Wilson or 
Welles, of Connecticut, Montgomery Blair and per- 
haps Mr. Gilmer, of North Carolina. This is, I am 
told, nearly the truth. I have made the acquaintance 
of Mr. Charles Adams and his charming family, of Mr. 
Cameron and his, and to-day was introduced to Mr. 
Chase, who said many kind things to me." 

March 15th. 
"I must try and keep you informed of what is going 
on. Every one is patient and Commodore Stewart 
at the age of eighty-three is strong and intellectual. 
It was a crying shame to retire him. The old 
gentleman is cheerful and pleasant. He says Fort 
Sumter should have men and provisions, and that is 
what we all say and are ready to do. The Navy 
can and wants to do it irrespective of what General 
Scott and the Army may say. On my return from 
the Capitol I stopped at Powell's, took tea, and he 
walked with me to Willard's, where I met Captain 
and Mrs. Stout and the Doctor and Mrs. Edwards." 

April 30th. 
"A special despatch leaves in an hour and in the 
crowd of business I drop you a line to say that all is 
right with T. and myself. Judge Wayne just called. 
He seemed grave and taciturn. Enquired about Mr. 
Cambreleng and made his visit brief. Everjrthing is 
quiet and we have no fear of anything. We have 
martial law — in part. Eleven citizens were impris- 
oned yesterday for talking. I am worked in a way 
I have never been before and get tired, tired, tired. 
Last night I was kept up till midnight and was at work 



242 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

at six this morning, and with the exception of time 
briefly taken for breakfast and dinner and five minutes 
rest, my head and hands and heels have been kept 
going. In ten days or so, besides blocking the coast, 
I hope to block the Ohio and Mississippi. . . . T. has 
been writing at the office all day until now, when I told 
him he might go. I stand it quite well and you need 
not be concerned about me. I have the vanity to 
think that I am doing a great deal of good. The sequel 
will show. I only hope I may have strength to brave 
it out. My heart and will are strong. I know not 
how many troops are here. It must be more than 
twenty thousand. The Capitol is safe." 

May 3d. 
"The Keystone State sails to-morrow for New York 
and Lieut. Commdg. Trenchard will take this and 
send it with his endorsement of the probable time of 
his return, that you may write by him if you please. 
There are thirty thousand volunteers in the city and all 
the time they are coming. I was told in confidence 
last night that a conspiracy of the Southern officers 
had succeeded in putting my name aside and placing 

that of Capt. before the President, but whom 

he and Mr. Welles promptly rejected, insisting upon 
having me. I could not but reply to him that I 
should have been relieved of some care if the plot had 
succeeded. Mrs. S. and her sister go east next week 
and I shall rent their house and estabUsh a mess here 
with one or two other gentlemen. With kind regards 
to our neighbors and love to the dear children, " etc. 

May 2d. 
"T. is doing more good work in my office than he 
could do anywhere else. I wanted just such a man. 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 243 

Engle wanted to go to sea, but there are enough without 
him and I want his head. Sometimes I speak briefly 
or in monosyllables, and one matter is not disposed of 
before two more are pressing on me, and this for hours, 
my mind gets muddy, excited, and almost confused. 
Don't think of coming until I break down. I will let 
you know if I need you. The rumors here are without 
end, alarming the timid and sending many of the ladies 
away. Thank God, I have not been alarmed yet. I 
am charmed with your noble spirit of patriotism. Be 
assured I will try and have you feel no cause to blush 
for your husband or your son. 

" The pubUc and many other buildings are filled with 
troops, and every hill is an encampment, yet we have 
not half that will soon be here and while this is going 
on, the Potomac separates us some two or three hours 
from the same kind of gathering on the other side, and 
at any moment some chance occurrence may bring 
these hostile elements into collision. There is no telling 
what I may not, from my position, be called upon to 
perform. I must and will fill my place manfully in 
defense of the Capitol, the flag, and the Union, and have 
no apprehension of the result to myself or the Repub- 
hc, tho' sacrifices may be made. Although the sacrifice 
to me, personally, is not inconsiderable, my honor, my 
conviction of duty, involving all that I hold dear, as a 
pubfic man, a citizen of the repubhc and the father of a 
family to whom it is my duty to bequeath a Govern- 
ment that will secure to them the blessing of Hberty 
peacefuUy to pursue their own measures of happiness, 
are sustaining motives to incur any and all responsi- 
bilities that devolve upon me. T. leaves to-morrow 
and will escort Mrs. Stockton and her sister to Phila- 
delphia. He wants a lieutenancy in the Army. As 



244 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

times are, the quarrel is not likely to end without a 
succession of bloody collisions, and ultimately peace will 
be the tribute to Northern valor. A military occupa- 
tion of conquered States and a period of probation will 
follow before any reconstruction of the RepubUc can 
take place. This is the view I take of it now, and yet 
I may take another view. My old friend and ship- 
mate Charles Henry Davis, a commander, will come to 
help me in the ofi&ce." 

May 7th. 
"As things are now, it looks as though every man 
in the country, soon or late, in some way, must be a 
soldier. I have made application for a 2d lieutenancy 
for T. in the Sixth U. S. Cavalry. You know, my 
dearest wife, he need not accept if you do not want him 
to do so. It is so much better to be an officer than a 
private, if one must follow the miUtary profession. 
Major Hunter, who will have the regiment, is one of the 
most amiable and pleasant gentlemen to be found." 

^.May 8th. 
"Washington is one great camp^ t1t\e soldiers are 
everywhere — by and by we shall have a collision. 
Either we shall have the advance of the South, which I 
do not believe, or the North will go into Virginia, 
which is not improbable. Stringham now has vessels 
to blockade on this side, and we send some for the Gulf 
and more will follow. A terrible effort is being made — 
yet some of my plans are not carried out. I am for 
ending the war in a year, and that can be done if the 
Government meets the spirit of the North." 

May nth. 
"I trust that the mail may be uninterrupted now 
and that you will receive my daily notes such as they 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 245 

are. There was music in the President's grounds this 
afternoon and as I passed along there was a gay assem- 
blage of young and old of both sexes and it looked as 
though there were no war. Yet there is war and rebel- 
lion, and soon there will be something to record in 
history that will stain with blood the records so peace- 
fully made in times past. We had in the last day or 
two a thousand regulars added to our standard here, 
half of these, cavalry fresh from Texas. 

''The rebels are assembling at Richmond and estab- 
lishing there a foundry and manufactory of arms, and 
it may be that our first move when we feel strong 
enough will be in that direction, to claim what they have 
stolen at Harper's Ferry. This will be a beginning of 
the end, which I predict will come to pass just one year 
from this time. If the old General were well it would 
be a less time. Thirty thousand men are now on their 
way. Considering how short a time it is since these vol- 
unteers were called to service, it is a most splendid 
exhibition of the citizen soldiery. They are all anxious 
to be led to battle. Alas, alas, for poor humanity. 
The world has no parallel to the infamy of this revo- 
lution, and I prefer to die in its subjection rather than 
to Hve in its toleration. The soldiers are not only 
quartered in the pubHc buildings everywhere, but en- 
camped on all the hills in every direction. When 
there are a hundred thousand, and perhaps before, 
they will begin to move. In what way, of course, I 
cannot tell. They should keep coming and moving on 
hke the tide until its culminating sweeps everything 
before it. It is the shortest and best way. It will 
save blood and treasure and carry conviction to the 
hearts of true men. 

Conmiodore was some days since appointed 



246 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

to command one of the squadrons. We cannot hear 
from him, and if we do not soon I shall ask to take his 
place. I am here ready for anything. You must not 
complain and, I trust, will not concern yourself about 
my safety or comfort, and least of all do I desire that 
you will come here. The country is in a state of 
transition and convulsion. One thing one day and 
then another. It is my duty as officer and man to 
stand to my guns and do my work faithfully and well, 
and that I honestly intend, and your presence here 
might, under some circumstances, greatly embarrass 
me. I have now a very able man, Charles H. Davis, 
to assist me, and after awhile may be able to step out 
and leave him in my place, yet I am constantly made 
to feel that much is expected of me by the leading men 
of the country. This is to be the center of miUtary 
operations and you are not very well calculated for 
scenes of war. The weather is bright to-day, and 'all 
but the spirit of man is divine.' " 

May 15th. 
"This morning I wrote you hurriedly from the office. 
I do not like to deny you and myself the happiness of 
being here together with a large house and every com- 
fort as far as any ordinary domestic arrangement can 
be considered. Yet there are other things to be thought 
of, of which it is well for us not to be immindful. 
Although in the President's grounds to-day, I am told, 
there was a good show of ladies, Washington is a mili- 
tary camp. The streets are crowded with soldiers and 
the whole city bristles with bayonets. ^ I may be so cir- 
cumstanced as to require your presence, and then you 
as well as I know what a blessing it would be, and in 
such case I would not hesitate to ask of you some 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 247 

sacrifice. The time for this has not come, and sufficient 
for the day is the evil. I feel as though I had hved 
for years in the last month or as though waking from a 
dream where the mind has wandered through scenes 
divided by rational thought from wild and extravagant 
absurdities." 

May 18th. 
" Some days ago I had the satisfaction to get a place 
for yomig Hassler, whose father lost his life in saving 
the women and children in the wi'eck of the ship on 
Fisher's Island, which you may remember. The Doctor 
and Maynard were on board, just returned from a 
cruise and going home in the ill-fated steamer. It is 
said of Maynard that when he had accomphshed his 
task and approached a stove on the shore surrounded 
by those he had saved — his clothes stiff with ice — 
none would make way for him! Without a mur- 
mur he turned away. This is a sad commentary 
on human life and a glorious instance of silent unre- 
quited heroism. As soon as M — gets into the Gulf the 
whole coast will be blockaded. I have all my plans 
for supplies of every kind to give to the ships every- 
thing necessary for their comfort, so that they may 
never be diverted from their stern purpose." 

May 23d (Midnight). 
"I have just returned from the Navy Yard. At 
2 A.M. ten thousand troops move to the Virginia side 
of the Potomac, eight to Arlington Heights, and some 
two thousand from the Navy Yard to Alexandria. 
The night is clear and beautiful, with a bright moon, 
and everjrthing as quiet as your own dear home. The 
Seventh Regiment is, I understand, to be a part of 
the force moved. To-morrow there will be a great 



248 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

stir. It seems to be understood that something is to 
be done, without a definite idea. All the ofl&cers and 
employees of the Government have now to take the 
oath to support the Constitution and the Union, and 
there will be many who will, as they say, 'fly the 
track.'" 

May 24th. 
"They took possession of Alexandria and Arlington 
Heights, as I mentioned in my letter last night. Col- 
onel Ellsworth was assassinated by the keeper of the 
public house whilst coming down the stairway after 
being on the roof to pull down the rebel flag. The 
assassin used a double-barreled shot-gun. The Colonel 
was shot through the heart. He had not fallen before 
the brains of the assassin covered the floor where he 
stood, pierced by half a dozen bayonets. Everything 
has been quiet to-day — our troops are fortifying in 
both places — some prisoners were taken. The ships 
will all soon be provided with officers and men. Ex- 
cept what we buy or charter we have now only the 
sail ships, three or four, two sloops, and a brig or 
two. Then the whole Navy will be afloat, and these 
may sail in a fortnight. Think of that — about fifty 
vessels of war afloat in six or eight weeks and every- 
thing to be done even to the repairing of many and 
opening the rendezvous for the shipment of the 
men." 

In August Mrs. Paulding joined the Com- 
modore in Washington, their friend, Mrs. 
Stockton, having left her house with serv- 
ants in their care during her absence. 
Some extracts from Mrs. Paulding's 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 249 

letters to her children at "Peach Blossom" 
may be interesting. 
She writes: 

Aug. 20th. 
"I do not know whether I shall find out anything 
about hospital needs here as no one seems interested 
in the soldiers' wants. If you read the Times yesterday 
you may have felt a little uneasy about Washington, 
and it may be true that the rebels intend to cross the 
Potomac, but there ought to be enough force to keep 
this place and to keep the road to the North open. I 
should not wonder if they closed the river." 

Aug. 22d. 

"It is now nearly eleven o'clock and I have done 
nothing since breakfast but read the Sun and watch 
the newly arrived soldiers who are waiting to be 
reviewed by the President. Mrs. S. wrote to Father 
that she had heard from Virginia that 'they intended 
to concentrate and take Washington.' I do not know 
whether he is frightened, but I am not. It does not 
seem possible, and if they do, I have many companions 
in the city. I did not think I should be so little timid. 
If possible, I do not want to leave Father, for he really 
needs me, and I am determined to enjoy the privilege 
of being with him as long as possible. Fretting will not 
make affairs any better. I have had calls from some 
pleasant people, all are kindly disposed toward me. 
Colonel and Mrs. Heintzelman called yesterday. He 
wears his arm in a sling. Genl. Hunter was here yester- 
day, but Mrs. Woodhull had taken me out for a drive, 
and I did not see him. We passed the camps near the 
Soldiers' Home. The city is alive with soldiers, but 



250 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

otherwise very quiet. Father's patience is sorely tried. 
His head is wonderful. He seems to have each one's 
case before him." 

Aug. 28th. 
"We listened for the rebels last night. It was 
thought a fight was going on. General McClellan went 
over last evening and ten thousand men the day before. 
The rebels have advanced, but everything is quiet 
to-day." 

Sept. 1st. 
"Returning from a walk, Friday evening, we found 
Tattnall here, just from Pittsburg, hungry and tired. 
Later Father took us to Bladensburgh, where the Sixth 
U. S. Cavalry are encamped. It was a lovely day and 
we had a charming ride and I had an opportunity of 
meeting the officers and seeing a little of camp life. 
T. is a favorite with all and seems to fill his position as 
well as if always accustomed to it. They have neither 
horses nor arms provided, and might almost as well be 
at home. He looks and seems well. They have a 
beautiful spot for their encampment. His new uniform 
has seen hard service and is almost worn out. I did 
not leave the carriage, but had my audience there." 

Sept. 3d. 
"Yesterday was the first uncomfortable day from 
the heat since we came. I did not go out. Miss 
Dahlgren spent an hour here, a pleasant one for me. 
The day before, we went to the Navy Yard with Capt. 
Dahlgren's escort and lunched at our old house with 
the Captain and a number of officers and, after a short 
caU on Mrs. Reynolds, went home. In the afternoon 
I called at General Totten's and Mrs. WoodhuU's and 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 251 

when I came home found Secretary Welles and son 
here — and a constant stream of visitors were here 
through the evening." 

Sept. 5th. 
"Events seem to be turning in our favor. I was in 
a state of excitement all day yesterday, from the rumor 
that there was fighting at the Chain Bridge. I have 
not the slightest fear, but the thought that such terrible 
carnage is going on near us, by which so many hearts 
are wrung with grief, cannot be considered with 
indifference. Captain Woodbury had been sent for at 
two o'clock last night to hurry to the Bridge. As we 
returned home at or after eleven last night we saw, 
opposite the President's, a large force, and General 
Heintzelman, who was with us, found they were leaving 
their encampments around the city to go to the Chain 
Bridge. It made me sad indeed as we watched them 
maneuver and then march on to the fight. There must 
have been near foiu* thousand with knapsacks and 
haversacks, all marching in the dark, no music only 
the sound of the heavy tramp. The horrors of war do 
not grow less to me in becoming familiar with these 
scenes. Captain W. thinks now that Washington is 
impregnable, he has not been satisfied before, but they 
have erected within a few days a very strong battery 
that commands an important point. The secrecy that 
pervades every movement prevents residents from 
knowing anything and we get more news from the New 
York papers than in the two-penny affairs of the great 
Capital." 

Sept. 10th. 
"This is the day we hoped to leave for home, but 
Father can fix upon no day to start. The ironclads 



252 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

are tedious. We hear of no news this morning although 
we saw three regiments on the move before breakfast 
this morning. The time must draw near for an advance, 
but no one knows. I went yesterday with Mrs. Wood- 
bury to Mrs. Beale's and saw the balloon again. On 
our way to the observatory, a day or two since, we saw 
the balloon just over the camps, and when we went on 
top of the building, with a glass, we could see it very 
distinctly resting in a green field near the camp. From 
the observatory we could, with the glass, see from Ft. 
Washington to beyond Georgetown — a more interest- 
ing view I never saw. I could see the different forts, 
intrenchments, army parades, in fact, all that was 
going on. It was a large and extended view, I disliked 
to leave it until I had studied it more thoroughly, but 
it was one o'clock and the sun was scorching — Captain 
Gilliss is now in charge there. (Another full regiment 
has just passed with a fine band) . Outside the walls 
are acres of 'reservations,' filled closely with horses, 
mules, wagons, and ambulances numbering many 
thousands. It is wonderful to see the number of 
horses, and, in fact, everything denoting power, that is 
moving onward. Washington is a vast storehouse. 
T. came in this morning, is kept very busy with drills 
and lessons. Father has heard many nice things said 
of T. by his superior ofiicers. He is well. Father says 
the ironclads will be more tedious than he thought. I 
would like to come, but do not really like to leave 
him." 

(Signed) A. M. Paulding. 

As matters at home called for Mrs. Paul- 
ding's presence she reluctantly left her hus- 
band and returned to the farm to prepare 



EARLY DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR 253 

for whatever might be in store. Shortly 
after, Commodore Paulding was ordered to 
command the Navy Yard at New York, 
the home at "Peach Blossom" was closed, 
and the family moved to the quarters of the 
Commandant, the old house on the hill. 
There the work for hospitals, commenced 
with the neighbors on West Neck, was 
continued and enlarged, the ladies from the 
various quarters in the Yard meeting at 
the Commandant's house, and many boxes 
of clothing and delicacies were sent to the 
hospitals; and officers, ordered to fit out from 
New York, found always ready hospitality 
awaiting them in the Commodore's home. 
There were many sad partings from those 
who left flushed with high hopes. The 
remaining years of the war were full of care, 
sadness, and anxiety, and such incessant 
work day and night as sapped the strength 
even of this vigorous man. 

I here insert a glimpse of him given me by 
an officer who knew of his work there, which 
in some measure was a continuation of what 
had been commenced while in Washington 
when the emergency called for the speedy 
construction of vessels for efficient and 
immediate use. The ''ironclad" idea was 
in its infancy and different models were 



254 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

submitted to boards of officers convened for 
the purpose. The accompanying letters 
prove his interest in Ericsson's monitor, 
which he had endorsed from the first. 



CHAPTER Xni 

SERVICE AT THE NAVY YARD, NEW YORK 
1861-63 

Here in New York, to the principal 
Navy Yard of the United States, were 
brought the war vessels from the seat of 
war to be repaired. New ones were build- 
ing, merchant vessels were purchased and 
as far as was possible were adapted to the 
temporary necessities of the Navy. All 
this required extra force working night and 
day, the overflow extending to the neigh- 
boring docks and workshops, and all came 
under the direct supervision, control, and 
wise judgment of the Commandant of the 
Navy Yard. Amid all the confusion inci- 
dent to this condition of things. Admiral 
Paulding, with his cool head, tact, and 
extended experience, kept every item in 
the most perfect system and order, and 
expedited the work with such skill that 
vessels were promptly got ready and were 
sent to the front. Hurry calls from gov- 
255 



256 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

ernors of States who fancied the Confed- 
erates were threatening invasion (and in 
one instance from one who knew that a 
Confederate vessel was off the coast of 
Maine) were made upon Paulding. Secre- 
tary Welles sent him numerous telegrams 
asking whether he could not cover the 
eastern coast by vessels even partially in 
repair, and not a day passed without tele- 
grams, almost hourly, calhng upon him for 
urgent work in various directions which 
forbade such a thing as healthful rest at 
any time. 

No commander of a squadron at sea had 
the harassing work of the Commandant 
of this principal station. A sea commander 
had his fleet to care for and direct. The 
commandant of the repair yard had the 
care of all the Atlantic fleets, in seeing that 
such vessels were fitted out in the least 
possible time, had proper crews, were pro- 
visioned and supplied with ammunition, 
were in every respect fitted to cope with 
the enemy, and, even after all the war vessels 
were completely equipped and sent to their 
respective squadrons, that they were sup- 
plied with all the provisions, fresh and salt, 
and with the ammunition and repair articles 
which would prevent the necessity of a 



SERVICE AT THE NAVY YARD 257 

return to the Yard, thus keeping the squad- 
rons in an efficient state without effort on 
the part of the Fleet Commander. Only 
the experienced naval conamander can 
estimate the value of this most important 
work. 

There are few men who are fitted for 
such duty, and these very men chafe under 
it because their wish is to be at the front, 
where reputation lies in conflict with the 
enemy; but what officer can work in the 
field with unsuitable or defective tools, and 
where is the naval officer to be found (in 
the United States at least) who does not 
recognize the master guiding hand at the 
dock yard who places in his hands the 
means of fighting? Admiral Hiram Paul- 
ding's work was blessed by everybody. Not 
by the Fleet Commander alone, who knew 
him personally, but by every soul on every 
ship who found the ship he had to 
fight in the condition which an experi- 
enced war officer and sailor would pronounce 
''good." 

There is one vital point in Admiral Hiram 
Paulding's command of the Navy Yard at 
New York that has been little written of. 
The modest Admiral would be the last man 
to exploit himself and speak of it, but had 



258 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

this wise gentleman not busied himself 
personally and deprived himself of nightly 
and daily rest, there would have been no 
'^Monitor and Merrimac fight," so much 
exploited in history and of such vital inter- 
est to the United States. The officers of the 
day, the officers of the guard, the sentinels 
on duty, and the watch force of the Navy 
Yard found this old gentleman at all hours 
of the day and night forcing forward, with 
all his weight of pleasant force and official 
power, the advancement and necessary 
hurry in fitting out the Monitor, then called 
the Ericsson, in order that she should reach 
Hampton Roads. Others did not know 
what this Admiral knew. Official matters 
are not always made public, but he knew 
that haste was necessary and that this 
experiment in naval science needed smooth 
conditions to reach her destination in time, 
apart from the haste required to have her 
in efficient condition. He knew that the 
Virginia (formerly the Merrimac) was 
almost, if not entirely, in a completed state 
and threatened the whole wooden fleet at 
Hampton Roads; and that if this Monitor 
experiment did not reach the Roads in time, 
the fleet stood in jeopardy of destruction. 
He therefore spent all his hours that could 



SERVICE AT THE NAVY YARD 259 

possibly be spared in expediting the Monitor. 
To him under God is due the fact that she 
got there in time. It would have been just 
and graceful if this valuable fact had been 
set forth by Mr. Welles, the Secretary of 
the Navy, but the victory swallowed up 
many facts, and certainly no one would ever 
hear of it from Paulding, whose modesty 
exceeded all his other good points. 

A telegram received on the night of March 
6, 1862, countermanding her orders to 
Fortress Monroe and instructing Captain 
Worden to ^4ose no time in proceeding with 
his vessel direct to Washington after passing 
the capes,'' was withheld by Commodore 
Paulding, who had private advices of the 
danger of longer delay in the despatch of 
this vessel to Hampton Roads. This en- 
abled the vessel to confront the Merrimac 
on the 9th of March and thus end her 
career of destruction. 

Another valuable trait of this good officer 
(and this trait is uncommon) was his ability 
to see and utilize all the good points of those 
serving under him, and he had such tact in 
this that he won the love and hard service 
of the men he used. While in the command 
of the New York Navy Yard, Commander — 
afterward Captain — Richard W. Meade was 



260 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

in command of the '* Receiving ship" North 
Carolina lying at what is called ''Cob Dock. " 
This was not a dock, but was, with the 
exception of an acre or two, under control 
of the Ordnance Department of the Yard, 
a mere shell to mark off a boundary line 
and keep off the encroachments of the river 
and Wallabout Bay, and was a place where 
a vessel could be secured and out of the way 
when not in commission. Mr. Lincoln had 
given instructions concerning the negroes of 
the South even before the issuance of the 
proclamation of freedom, and scarcely a 
vessel arrived from the South that did not 
have a number of escaped slaves to whom 
the conamanding officer of the vessel bring- 
ing them had given asylum. These negroes 
were not enlisted when received, but were 
upon the ship's books because rations and 
clothing could not be issued to them other- 
wise, and it was necessary for the paymaster 
to account for his stores. The question of 
caring for these poor people, who were 
homeless and friendless, became a burning 
one. Admiral Paulding found in Captain 
Meade an able, wise, and vigorous help in 
this matter. 

These negroes (called ''contrabrands," 
from a decision of Gen. B. F. Butler, the 



SERVICE AT THE NAVY YARD 261 

astute lawyer who called them ^^contrabrand 
of war'^ at a time when a quick decision was 
needed in the case of escaped slaves, and the 
loyal people wished to pacify their deluded 
brethren of the South) reached New York 
in such numbers that quick measures were 
needed to provide them with quarters. 
The Navy Yard Channel, churned up by 
the constantly crowded condition of things, 
had to be dredged out all the time and the 
contractor made money at both ends by 
carrying away the rich alluvial soil he 
dredged up and selling it to outsiders. 
Captain Meade wanted to make solid land 
out of that Cob Dock and thus reclaim 
some twenty or twenty-five acres to the 
Government. He laid his plan before the 
Admiral, who saw and embraced it at once. 
Here was a rich field for the labor of the 
^^ contraband, '^ keeping him out of mischief, 
improving his health, and adding to the 
value of the station by much needed acreage. 
The contractor, whose contract did not 
give him the excavated soil, was notified 
that it was to the interest of the Government 
that the scows containing the soil should 
not be taken from the Yard, but delivered 
to fhe care of Captain Meade, who would 
retu n the scows to him empty. He made 



262 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

quite a bother over the matter, since he lost a 
large profit, but as he had no vaUd claim he 
was compelled to obey the order. Moreover, 
in those days the interest of the country 
was everything, the interest of the indi- 
vidual nothing. A tract of some twenty or 
twenty-five acres was thus in a very short 
time added to this important place, where 
mere mud existed before. Captain Meade 
employed a number of coast-survey schoon- 
ers, which were lying idle in the slips of the 
Cob Dock, to go up the Long Island Sound 
for sand and gravel. All the ashes, cinders, 
clean rubbish, etc., of ships at the Yard 
and of the Yard itself were requisitioned to 
make the excavated soil of the channel a 
solid body, and to-day the Cob Dock stands 
a monument to the good sense of Admiral 
Paulding and Captain Richard W. Meade, 
for, without it, it would be difficult to find 
the space needed at this, the most impor- 
tant naval depot and station of the United 
States. Of course the land when completed 
was covered, at first, with cabins and shacks 
for the accommodation of the ^^contra- 
bands," numbering at one time nearly 2000. 
Drill ground was afforded, target galleries 
established, and crews were thus enabled to 
go on board their ships when commissioned, 



SERVICE AT THE NAVY YARD 263 

prepared in great measure to cope with 
the enemy. The importance of the work 
cannot be overestimated. It was accom- 
plished under the rules of sanitation, pre- 
sided over by the best medical skill to be 
found in a profession where the world at 
large furnished the school, and no evil result 
came from this '^ made land," not a single 
case of malaria obtaining where before the 
work the ^'sick list" was full of such cases. 

During the administration of Admiral 
Paulding at New York, another memorable 
event took place in which his cool head, 
wisdom, and knowledge of war problems 
were of paramount benefit to his country. 
A war problem is not always a tactical 
collision between armies or fleets. It 
covers cases where public disturbance 
amounting to riot takes place. The Draft 
Riot in New York in 1863 was one of these. 
This riot was not an ordinary riot, it was 
a political riot, and the loyal people of the 
country believed that it had its leadership 
and incentive from the South. If no actual 
Southern leader was there, the ^'Copper- 
head" was, and he was in collusion with 
those in authority in the South and the plan 
was matured there. 

The time chosen was when Lee had 



264 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

invaded Pennsylvania and the battle of 
Gettysburg was in progress. All the avail- 
able troops of New York had been ordered 
to the front to aid General Meade, and the 
city was thus practically defenseless. Troops 
garrisoned the forts and the Navy Yard 
as a matter of course, but only a hand- 
ful could be spared from these places to 
take care of the city even in its one need. 

The Draft Riot, originally an objection 
by certain half-loyal people to a so-called 
unjust demand for troops upon New York 
over other States, gathered to itself the 
dangerous classes, who came from under- 
ground and everywhere else in the hope of 
plunder. It may be true that those who 
caused this riot withdrew from it when it 
assumed the proportions which it quickly 
took, but even that is to be doubted when 
it is considered that the destruction of New 
York City meant incalculable gain to the 
rebel cause. The Southern aspect of this 
brutal riot exhibited itself chiefly in its 
attack upon harmless and inoffensive negroes 
who were killed, burned, hanged to lamp- 
posts and trees, and even when hanged and 
djdng had fires built beneath them to sat- 
isfy the fiendish desires of their murderers. 
The colored asylum for orphans was 



SERVICE AT THE NAVY YARD 265 

burned and fires were started everywhere 
in the city. 

Admiral Paulding was called upon by the 
Collector and Surveyor of the Port for 
assistance. Of course application to the 
commandants of forts had been promptly 
made also. The Collector had been threat- 
ened and he took refuge at the Navy Yard. 
Paulding promptly despatched a battahon 
of two companies of marines to the city and 
placed small gunboats with Ught arma- 
ments at the foot of the principal streets, 
their commanding officers having thorough 
understanding as to quick and efficient 
movement. At first it was thought that 
the battalion of marines could care for the 
United States Arsenal as well as attend to 
their other work, but the only troops in 
the city being a battalion of United States 
Artillery acting as infantry and a battalion 
of marines, — both battalions being only 
two small companies each, — a company of 
German artillery who had guns and no 
ammunition, and the disabled Veteran 
Reserves, it was found necessary to send a 
naval battery of howitzers to guard the 
Worth Street Arsenal. This was done. 
The troops were ever on foot. No one slept 
more than an hour at a time during the 



266 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

eight days of that riot, and when they did 
sleep or eat, it was on the stones of the 
street or a convenient brick pile. No house 
or other shelter covered any soldier or police- 
man during that period and the pohce were 
magnificent. 

Admiral Paulding during that time, with 
all his other important work, showed how 
the grasp of a difficult situation was easy to 
him. He fed and cared for his men, relieved 
the thorny paths of the situation, and so 
regulated matters that those terrible eight 
days were made fairly easy and were quickly 
forgotten, so far as the hardships were 
concerned. When he got his own sleep and 
an hour's freedom from the keenest care, 
no one knows. 

Copy of telegrams received March 9th, 
Washington, 9.45 p.m: 

Navy Yard, New York. 
"Arrival of Ericsson in Hampton Roads. Fight 
between her and the Merrimac. The latter driven 
back to Norfolk in a sinking condition." 

"The telegraph hne to Fortress Monroe is just 
completed and a message from there states that after 
the arrival of the Ericsson last night she was attacked 
by the Merrimac, Jamestown, and Yorktown. After a 
five hom-s' fight they were driven off and the Merrimac 
put back to Norfolk in a sinking condition." 



SERVICE AT THE NAVY YARD 267 

AsTOR House, 10 p.m., March 9, 1862. 
To Admiral H. Paulding, 
Navy Yard. 
I send you herewith the latest news from Fortress 
Monroe, which, so far as we know, is rehable. 

Yours truly, 

G. Swan. 



FINIS 

PICTURE OF THE HOME 

The years of '63 and '64, which spread 
sorrow, distress, and bereavement through 
the length and breadth of the land, left few 
untouched. The official Ufe continued to 
be absorbing and exhausting. Paulding's 
counsel was sought in many ways for means 
of defense where danger threatened, and his 
personal anxieties were harassing. His 
son, Tattnall, was prisoner of war in Rich- 
mond, his wife was seriously — it was feared 
fatally — ill, and his ''Peach Blossom" home 
one February night was burned to the ground. 

Still the Christian philosophy acquired 
in the school of long experience did not fail 
him, and he was cheerful and hopeful, 
continuing his work with unabated vigor, 
cheering the down-hearted and infusing 
hope in the hearts of those whose husbands, 
sons, and brothers were at the front. 

The ladies on the station met on stated 
days at the Commandant's quarters, the 

268 



FINIS 269 

old house on the hill, to work for the hos- 
pitals, and many valuable boxes of clothing 
and supplies were sent from there to the 
sick and wounded. The younger son of 
Captain Meade of the ^'Receiving ship'' 
North Carolina, a marine officer, a great 
favorite with all on the station, had been 
made prisoner of war in the first attack 
on Fort Sumter, had been many months 
in prison at Columbia, S. C, and it was 
feared he had succumbed to the rigors of 
the dreadful life there. 

After many weary months came the 
spring of 1865, when the war was drawing 
to a close. Great happiness had come to 
two of the families at the New York Navy 
Yard in the exchange of Captain — now 
Lieutenant-Colonel — Paulding, U. S. A., and 
Lieutenant Robert L. Meade, U. S. M. C. 
Worn by hardships, broken down in health, 
half starved and ragged, these brave young 
fellows came home. In common with thou- 
sands of others, they had proved their 
patriotism and taken the consequences. 
Time would show whether, when recon- 
struction should be accomplished, a grateful 
country through its Government would 
show appreciation of their faithful service 
and their sufferings in the cause. 



270 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

But their homes were happy, they had 
returned with untarnished honor. 

In April, 1865, Admiral Paulding was 
detached from the Navy Yard and went to 
Huntington with his family. The home 
was being rebuilt and they found a tem- 
porary resting-place in a cottage on the 
^'Kalmia" estate. Two of the daughters 
were married about this time, and when 
his service was no longer needed, Tattnall 
Paulding resigned from the Army and estab- 
lished himself in business in Philadelphia. 
In 1866 Admiral Paulding was ordered as 
Governor of the Naval Asylum — now the 
Naval Home — at Philadelphia, where he 
remained nearly three years, after which 
he held the place of Port Admiral of Boston 
for a time. This was, in a way, more in 
the nature of a complimentary position, to 
add to his slender salary, for in some way 
Congress had done great injustice to some 
of the veteran officers, and they were in 
their old age much straitened, receiving 
far less than their juniors. This was later 
corrected. 

Through the intelUgent and assiduous work 
of the devoted elder daughter, the ^' Peach 
Blossom '^ home was again comfortable and 
attractive. The mother's health was par- 



FINIS 271 

tially restored and the old sailor at last 
reaped the reward of his labors and found 
rest and comfort in his home, enjoying all 
that was possible for one of his advanced 
years, through his letters keeping in touch 
with the few old friends left and with the 
world outside, and helping to make the 
home a place of dehght for friends, children, 
and grandchildren. 

With two devoted daughters in the home, 
two daughters and his sons happily married, 
one living in Philadelphia, the other in the 
cottage on the farm, the old people were 
cheered in their declining years and enliv- 
ened by visits from their other children and 
grandchildren. In 1878, Oct. 20th, beloved 
and honored by all, Hiram Paulding passed 
away. Others more often at the front had 
dazzled the world by brilHant deeds, but 
wherever duty called, his response had been 
prompt and efficient in an unusual degree, 
and in his whole life he illustrated that 
word emblazoned on the medal given his 
patriot father, ''Fidelity." 



APPENDIX 

John Paulding died at Staatsburg, New 
York, in 1818. The Corporation of the 
city of New York erected a monument to 
his memory at Peekskill in 1829. Hiram 
Paulding wrote to one of his father's old 
neighbors asking information; the subjoined 
letter in answer, from Boyce, a man of 
seventy-four years of age at the time the 
letter was written, thus speaks of him (we 
give both letters): 

Letter from Paulding to Boyce: 

My dear sir: The son of one of your companions of 
"seventy-six" takes the liberty to address you, presum- 
ing on the fraternal association that must have sub- 
sisted between the patriots of Westchester who, hand 
in hand, passed through the manly yet bitter struggle 
for national independence. I am the son of John 
Paulding, one of the captors of Major Andre, and with 
filial regard desire to preserve from oblivion the events 
of my Father's life as connected with the Revolution. 
It is also due to the heroic efforts and the devoted 
patriotism of the farmers of Westchester that their 
achievements should not be lost to posterity, but that 
the noble example should be handed down to future 
272 



APPENDIX 273 

generations who shall enjoy the blessings it secured to 
them. 

No people of the country suffered more than the 
inhabitants of Westchester, and there were none more 
firmly or faithfully devoted to the cause of hberty. 
There is now no historical record of what was accom- 
plished by you and your compatriots while the minutest 
particulars cannot fail to be instructive. 

It was a partizan and desultory warfare marked by 
but few striking incidents such as would find a place in 
the general history of the war, but nevertheless quite as 
important in its results as though battles had been 
fought and victories won. 

Personal anecdotes, instances of individual bravery, 
patriotism, or virtue, illustrate the character of the 
people and the spirit of the times and give us informa- 
tion more interesting and more useful than we can 
glean from the formal history of remarkable events. 
The warfare carried on in Westchester lives but in 
the memory of a few of your companions and in a few 
years would be quite forgotten. I have been told by 
Samuel Young, of Tarrytown, and by others that there 
is none more competent than yourself to furnish a state- 
ment from memory of incidents and facts, and I am 
induced by the considerations I have mentioned to ask 
that you will oblige me so much as to do so. Every- 
thing will be interesting. The public meetings that 
were called immediately preceding the Revolution, 
the measures adopted by them, and incidents of every 
kind, showing the character of the people down to the 
close of the war. If you could favor me with your 
personal memoir it would be very acceptable. Should 
you have any knowledge or recollection of the time and 
place where my father was made prisoner the second 



274 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

time and the circumstances that led to it, or anything 
else relating to him, you will oblige me very much. I 
hope the motive that has induced me to address you so 
unceremoniously will plead my apology for doing so. 
(Signed) Hiram Paulding. 

Letter from Abraham Boyce to Hiram 
Paulding, written in his seventy-fourth year : 

20 Commerce St., New York. 
I was a prisoner with John Paulding in the Old 
Sugar House. We were sometimes allowed to walk 
in the yard. When we came from the sugar house into 
the yard, we were counted, and again when we returned. 
Around the sugar house was a pale or picket fence about 
as high as a man's face (five feet). The English were 
about building a new picket fence a great deal higher 
than the old one, and had nearly completed it, when 
one evening the prisoners were let out into the yard 
as usual. The sun was about an hour high. John 
Paulding was near me, and leaned against the 
picket near a space where the old fence was taken 
down and the new was not yet quite completed. 
The sentry was stationed on the outside of the 
fence and passed the open space as he walked to and 
fro. Paulding, who was watching an opportunity, 
walked out of the prison yard as the sentry's 
back was toward him and deliberately continued 
up the street without being noticed, or particularly 
remarked by anyone. He continued on in this way 
until we lost sight of him, and no one except 
the prisoners had any suspicion but that he was 
one of the British soldiers, as he wore at the 
time a refugee's coat that he had received in ex- 



APPENDIX 275 

change for his own. He went as far as Spuyten 
Duyvil creek, where he was concealed by a friend 
until night. He then got them to set hun on the 
opposite side of the North River. Search was 
made for him in every direction, but without get- 
ting any trace of him. We were at that time 
on an allowance of two ounces of meat and eight 
ounces of bread per day. In the old Sugar House 
where we were confined there were no fireplaces. 
A few handfuls of small sticks were given to each 
mess to cook with. We had to cook on the floor 
and the smoke in the prison was almost suffocat- 
ing. The prisoners were thrown together in the 
prison, without order, and without the least care 
for their health or ordinary comfort. We believed 
that the English were constantly trying to poison us. 
We very often found broken glass in our bread and 
pepper. 

John Paulding was taken prisoner the first time near 
W^hite Plains. His brother William and a man that 
lived with us were in the field, ploughing, when five 
Tories or skulkers surprised and took them prisoners, 
carrying them off as well as the horses. At that time 
no one thought of going out without taking his musket 
with him, and John Paulding no sooner saw the retreat 
of the skulkers than he fired his musket and pursued 
them. The firing of a musket was sufficient to alarm 
the country, and the people quickly assembled and 
pursued the retiring marauders. When they had 
approached pretty near White Plains, where the British 
army lay encamped, they gave up the chase and 
returned. John Paulding and some of his companions 
were surprised and taken. When he escaped he 
crossed the North River in a boat, and at night stopped 



276 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

at a small house in the woods, where he inquired the way 
to New York, fearing there might be some one to appre- 
hend and take him back to prison if he were found 
travelling from the city. An old woman told him the 
way to New York. He had married Sarah Teed, 
the daughter of a Tory, whose son Isaac was with 
the refugees before he was captured the last time, and 
was living on the farm given him by the State. Going 
out with a party of his neighbors, they encountered a 
superior number of refugees near Sing Sing, and were 
defeated. The rest of the party had been taken, and 
Paulding was making his escape over the ice when he 
was surrounded by several of the refugees, who com- 
manded him to surrender. He consented to do so if 
they would give him quarter. They asked his name, 
to which he replied, "I ran as fast as I could." They 
again asked his name and he made the same reply, 
believing that his life would pay the forfeit of his name 
being known at that time, such was the hostility his 
exploits had excited against him on the part of the 
Tories. He was finally recognized by one of his captors, 
who, closing upon him, he received a severe cut with a 
sabre over the head, which laid him bleeding and sense- 
less on the ice where he stood. When he recovered 
from the stunning effect of the blow he found himself 
surrounded by enemies who threatened to take his life. 
It was not long before his brother-in-law, who had 
never seen him before, came in and saved him from 
further violence. Great importance was attached to 
the capture of this prisoner and such was his reputation 
for remarkable address and activity that although he 
was severely wounded and tied, they cut the waistband 
of his pantaloons to keep him from running away from 
them. At Tarrytown he sent word to his father that 



APPENDIX 277 

he was a prisoner. He was put in close confinement, 
and not long afterward, peace was declared. Once 
when he escaped from prison (I think the second time), 
he found himself in a small yard where there was a 
young wench and a gate that opened into the street. 
He asked her to open the gate. "Are you one of the 
prisoners?" said she. "Yes, " was the reply, whereupon 
she opened the gate and he walked off. His absence 
was soon discovered and the whole prison rung with 
his name. Search was immediately made, and a poor 
fellow who was supposed to be Paulding was brought 
in and beaten unmercifully before the truth of the 
matter was discovered. 

(Signed) Abkaham Boyce. 

Letter from Mr. James K. Paulding to 
Hiram Paulding, Lieutenant, U. S. S. 
Independence: 

Washington, 18th June, 1818. 
Dear Hiram: It gives me great pleasure to hear from 
Lieutenant Salter that you are employing your time in 
gaining a knowledge of the French language, and in 
studying such branches of mathematics as will be useful 
in your profession. These acquisitions will be useful 
to you in your future life and furnish you with sources 
of pleasure wherever you go. Indeed I cannot imagine 
a more certain mode of providing the means of a 
respectable and happy life than acquiring a due rehsh 
for literature and science, sources of pleasure and 
gratification that are almost always in our power, and 
keep us from running into expensive and improper 
pursuits. I have taken means to get you and, if pos- 
sible, Lieutenant Salter transferred to the Macedonian, 



278 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

and believe I shall succeed, although the absence of 
the Secretary renders it doubtful at present. It will 
be a long voyage, but pleasant, and will afford you a 
fine opportunity, which I am sure you will not neglect, 
to become a seaman, the groundwork of eminence in 
your profession. Let me hear from you when you wish 
anything reasonable and be sure your wishes will be 
promptly attended to. 
Believe me. 

Your affectionate cousin and friend, 
J. K. Paulding. 

In June, 1862, the sword voted by the 
Nicaraguan Government in 1857 was pre- 
sented to the Admiral in the presence of a 
party of friends, Congress having authorized 
the acceptance of the sword though dechn- 
ing to allow him to receive the grant of 
land. 

To Admiral Paulding from L. Molina: 

Legation of Nicaragua in the U. S., 
New York, July 21, 1860. 
Sir: I have the honor to communicate to you the 
resolution of the republic of Nicaragua, copies of which 
I beg leave to hand you herewith, intended to offer 
you a public vote of thanks, a sword of honor, and 
twenty caballerias of the national lands to be settled 
at your option; as tokens of the high regard felt 
for you personally, and in acknowledgment of the 
important service you rendered that country while, 
Uke an upright citizen and faithful servant, you 



APPENDIX 279 

were performing your whole duty to your own, by 
your noble conduct at Punta de Castilla and San 
Juan del Norte on the 8th day of December, 
1857. 

It affords me great satisfaction to be the medium 
of imparting this intelligence to you, regretting that 
for some unaccountable reasons it has only reached 
my hands in an official form within the last three 
days. 

Aware that, in order to be at liberty to accept any 
such demonstration from a foreign Government, your 
position requires that leave should be previously 
obtained from Congress and, with a view to spare you 
if possible any trouble in this matter, it is my intention 
upon receiving your answer to address myself, as it is 
customary on such occasions, to the Honorable Secre- 
tary of State of the United States. 

With the highest regard, 

I have the honor to be, sir, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 
(Signed) Louis Molina. 

At the presentation Minister Perez read 
as follows: 

In compliance with orders from the Government of 
Nicaragua, I have the honor to forward to you the 
sword which, as expressed in the decree I have had 
previously the pleasure to communicate to you, that 
repubhc has desired to present to you for your noble 
conduct at Punta de Castilla on the 8th December, 1857. 
On that occasion you, not without a knowledge of the 
gravity of the act, but with a just consciousness of 
discharging a duty toward your own country and 



280 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

abounding with zeal for its honor and good name, as 
commander of the naval force of the United States in 
those waters, decided to seize and did seize and brought 
back the notorious adventurer William Walker, and 
the other individuals of the expedition he led from the 
United States and which he landed at Punta de Castilla 
in the presence of one of their vessels of war, in viola- 
tion of their municipal laws and of their national obliga- 
tions, thus attempting a second time the invasion of 
Nicaragua, a State with which the United States were 
at peace. 

That meritorious act performed by you, instead of 
receiving the approbation of your Government, met with 
a severe censure from Mr. Buchanan's administration 
and subjected you to undeserved mortification and prej- 
udice. At the time alluded to, Nicaragua had a mere 
de jure — not a practical — dominion over the port of 
San Juan, which really was under a sort of protectorate 
of the United States and Great Britain; and, on looking 
upon the momentous action you took with no other 
object than that of preventing the piratical invasion 
of her territory by citizens of the United States, she 
could not consider your conduct as offensive to her, nor 
be indifferent to the disagreeable consequence it brought 
upon yourseff: on the contrary, regarding it as com- 
mendable and well calculated to prevent injurious 
complications as well as other evils undeserved on the 
part of Nicaragua and, at least, unfruitful to the United 
States, she has desired to give you a testimony of her 
just appreciation of your noble conduct and high 
motives, by tendering to you a vote of thanks and 
presenting to you twenty caballerias of land, and a 
sword which I have now the pleasure to forward to you 
by Don Jose Rosa Perez, a Nicaraguan citizen. My 



APPENDIX 281 

Government has regretted that the United States Con- 
gress should not have given their consent to your 
accepting the lands, and the sword has reached me very 
recently only, because they awaited information in 
regard to the resolution of that body, as well as on 
account of posterior accidental circumstances. Please, 
sir, to excuse the length of this note, to be assured of 
the great pleasure I take in complying with the order 
from my Government on this occasion, and to accept 
the high esteem and consideration with which I have 
the honor to subscribe myself. 

Your most obedient servant, 
(Signed) Louis Molina. 

To Captain H. Paulding, U. S. N. 

Address of Admiral Paulding on occasion 
of the presentation of the sword: 

"I welcome you here to be present on an occasion 
of more than usual interest to me. Some of you will 
remember that a few years since, while in command of 
the Home Squadron, it became necessary for me to 
assume a responsibility demanded by the honor of our 
country and the first dictates of humanity. 

" In violation of the President's proclamation and the 
laws of the land, Wilham Walker, aided by prominent 
Southern men, left our shores with a piratical band of 
followers, to prey upon the peace and happiness of the 
people of Nicaragua, a sister republic with whom at the 
time we had the most friendly relations. Regardless of 
the presence of the U. S. ship Saratoga, which had been 
placed in the harbor of San Juan del Norte with refer- 
ence to these freebooters. Walker landed his party at 



282 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

the Point Arenas, directly under her guns. When in 
my flag-ship I arrived there from Aspinwall, he had 
already commenced his warlike operations and, from 
the condition of things, I found that the only thing I 
could do was to disarm the party and send them home 
to answer for their crimes. 

"I remember, if you do not, the bitter denuncia- 
tion of the prominent scoundrels who had partitioned 
among themselves the homes of an unoffending people, 
how they deplored with imbecile rage the loss of a new 
empire for the institution of slavery, to be estabhshed 
on the ruin of a free people. 

'' My proceeding was approved by every good citizen, 
yet such were the influences then controlling the admin- 
istration of the Government that the course of justice 
due to a friendly nation was set aside. By leading 
Southern men, who doubtless participated in the shame- 
ful invasion of Nicaragua, and who are now in arms 
against us, I was denounced in the Halls of Congress 
for violating the neutrality of Nicaragua by landing on 
her shore. The Government of Nicaragua, with a sense 
of justice that I did not find in my own, at once ex- 
onerated me by conveying through one of her most 
distinguished citizens. General Juarez, her approval 
and thanks for the course I had pursued. 

" Subsequently she decreed in her Halls of Legislation 
to present me a sword of honor and a measure of her 
pubHc domain. I am permitted by Congress to receive 
this sword. 

'' His Excellency Don Louis Molina, minister pleni- 
potentiary from Nicaragua, has entrusted this emblem 
of his country's good-will to the hands of Mr. J. R. 
Perez, to whom I most cordially tender my thanks for 
his courtesy. 



APPENDIX 283 

" I receive from you, Mr. Perez, with my profound 
acknowledgments to your Government, its minister, 
and yourself, this highly appreciated gift. For the 
honor it conveys, its possession will be a cherished 
memorial for me and mine, and whenever it shall be 
my happiness to display it to my friends, as upon 
tliis occasion, I can say with a feeling of honest pride, 
'this sword illustrates the justice and generosity of 
the Government of Nicaragua. It relieves me from 
imputed wrong to her and the imputed commission, 
on my part, of "a grave error," whilst in a faithful 
discharge of my duty as an officer.' 

" I have thus, my friends, given a brief sketch of the 
transaction through which we are assembled here, but 
the whole story is not told and I cannot tax your 
patience now. Yet I will say it was evidently designed 
that I should be the victim of infamous men in high 
places, in carrying out their schemes of rapine and 
murder. It is a history not without interest and 
instruction. It conveys a moral, showing that, whether 
in public or private life, the surest guide is to be just 
without fear. 

"Again, Senor Perez, permit me to express thanks 
for the kindly manner in which you have executed the 
trust confided to you by His Excellency your honored 
representative." 

Commandant's Office, U. S. Navy Yard, 
New York, June 4, 1862. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge, by the hands 
of Don Jose Rosa Perez, accompanied by the letter 
from your Excellency of the 19th May, 1862, the 
receipt of the sword which the Government of 
Nicaragua by decree has directed to be presented 



284 LIFE OF hIrAM PAULDING 

to me for the course which I deemed it my duty to 
pursue in arresting at Punta de Castilla, on the 8th 
of Dec, 1857, the notorious fihbuster and outlaw 
WiUiam Walker, with his followers, who had landed 
on the shores of the republic of Nicaragua in viola- 
tion of the laws of the United States and of all 
civilized nations. For the generous manifestation of 
your Excellency's Government by the decree present- 
ing this sword and also the tract of land (of which 
latter the pohcy of my Government does not permit 
the acceptance), of the approval and estimation of my 
course on the occasion above referred to, I can only say 
that it is far above my deserts for the simple perform- 
ance of what I then considered and now consider to 
have been my duty. 

Of course it is the desire of every officer to receive 
the approval of his Government, and if I did not then 
receive that of the Administration and Congress, I 
think the cause can be directly traced to political events 
which have since culminated in the present unfortunate 
condition of the country, which no one can more 
deeply deplore than myself. Be pleased to accept for 
yourself my sincere thanks for the kind and flattering 
manner in which you have conveyed to me the wishes 
of your Government and to express through you to 
your Excellency's Government the high appreciation 
in which I shall always hold this manifestation of 
its approval of my official act. I am, sir. 

With sentiments of high regard and esteem, 

Your Excellency's obedient servant, 
(Signed) H. Paulding. 

To HIS Excellency, Senor Don Luis Molina, 
Envoy Extraordinary, etc. 



APPENDIX 285 

The sword is a magnificent one, the hilt 
and scabbard being soUd gold chased in the 
most elaborate style, with the coat of arms of 
the State of Nicaragua beautifully embossed 
thereon, around which is the following in- 
scription: "Lsi Republica de Nicaragua al 
Commodore H. Paulding.'^ The scabbard 
and hilt are studded with thirteen or more 
large amethysts, the native stone of Nica- 
ragua, and on the blade is engraved the 
following: ^^Per su noble compartiremente en 
Punta de Castilla el 8 December de 1857." 

When Commodore Paulding was ordered 
to the command of the Navy Yard at New 
York, his home at the farm at Huntington 
was temporarily deserted, and the house 
closed, save for a short time in summer. In 
the autumn sailors from a coaster, storm- 
bound in Lloyd's Harbor, to beguile a 
tedious hour, broke into the house and, with 
the usual vandalism of such people, ran- 
sacked closets and did much mischief; so, 
to protect the property, a farmer was sent 
to live in the house. He moved with his 
family one rainy February day and, finding 
a great open fireplace in the oak-floored 
kitchen, built a roaring wood fire for warmth 
and comfort. The warmth came, but not 



286 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

the comfort, for, through some accident 
while they slept, the house took fire, and 
they barely escaped. 

A letter from one of the Commodore^s 
daughters speaks of his reception of the 
news. 

Burning of the house at Peach Blossom: 

Navy Yard, New York, 

February, '63. 
My dear C: We have met with a grievous mis- 
fortune. I can hardly bring myself to speak of it, but 
when I see how Father takes it, I must make the best 
of it. I had spent the night in New York with Aunt 
Mary, who was very ill, and, finding her more comfort- 
able in the morning, came home. I was astonished, 
on coming in, to see Father in the parlor alone reading 
a letter by the window, for at that hour he was always 
in his office and very busy. I ran to him for my good- 
morning kiss, when he came toward me, taking off his 
glasses, and putting his arm around me said gravely: 
"My daughter, I have bad news for you. I have just 
heard that our house, our dear Teach Blossom' house, 
was burned to the ground last night. All is gone. It 
is hard, is it not — but we must be thankful no lives 
were lost." And I never shall forget the brave patient 
look in those dear eyes, trying to comfort me, when I 
knew all it was to him. The house he had worked for 
so many years, and on which he had just paid off the 
mortgage; and in those busy weary days and nights 
thought of the rest and refreshment awaiting him there 
when the war should be over. And now, all was gone. 
And not a word of impatience, brave and calm he could 



APPENDIX 287 

stand there beside me and look at the sudden shattering 
of his hopes, with philosophy and Christian fortitude. 
I had loved and admired my dear father always, but 
this was an exhibition of heroism I could hardly look for. 
Mother, too, was patient and brave, as became a 
soldier's wife, ill as she was. So what is left for us, 
their children, but to make the best of it? We cannot 
tell what will be done. With Mother so ill, Father 
breaking down with his anxieties here, Tattnall in the 
Army, and two of us engaged to be married, they may 
not have the courage to rebuild even if there should 
be the means to make another home. It is surely 
disheartening. I felt that I must write and tell you, 
for you and I have had so many happy days there 
together, and I know you loved the dear old house 
almost as I did. The tears will fall as I write, but that 
will not do, so good-bye. Yours 

R. 

It was a great trial, but life is full of 
vicissitudes, and in those days of Civil War 
there were sadder losses than that of a home. 
As the months wore on, the brave elder 
daughter, who had been the first to love 
the ^^ Peach Blossom '' home, helped to bring 
courage — and plans for rebuilding were con- 
sidered. 

New York, April 10, 1864. 
Rear-Admiral Paulding, 

Commdt. Brooklyn Navy Yard. 

Sir: I have the honor to inform you that after pro- 
posal of the minister of marines. His Majesty the King 



288 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

of Italy has bestowed upon you the decoration of 
commander of this equestrian order of Sts. Mauritius 
and Lazarus as a reward for the assistance you afforded 
to the Itahan frigate Re d' Italia when she got on 
shore near Long Branch. 

Having been appointed to deliver you said decora- 
tion and the letter which accompanies it, I'll be very 
happy, Admiral, to learn from you when, after getting 
the proper permission of the Congress, you will be able 
to accept them. I am. 

Your most obedient servant, 
(Signed) Del Santo, 
Captain of Frigate, R. I. N. 

Legazione d' Italia, 
Agli Stati Uniti, 
Washington, 9th December, 1866. 
Sir: 1 take great pleasure in officially informing you 
that H. M. the King of Italy, in appreciation of the 
services rendered by you in assisting and procuring aid 
to the frigate Re d' Italia of the Royal Navy, when in 
a dangerous condition, has been graciously pleased to 
confer upon you the title and dignity of commander of 
his order of the Sts. Mauritius and Lazarus. 

In transmitting now to you the insignia of the 
order, and the royal commission attached thereto, I 
beg to express to you, sir, my sincere congratulations; 
at the same time I take this occasion of offering to 
you, sir, the assurance of my most distinguished con- 
sideration. 

(Signed) R. Cantagalli, 
Charge d'affaires. 



APPENDIX 289 

His Excellency R. Cantagalli, 
Charge d'affaires of Italy , 
Washington, D. C. 

Governor's Office U. S. Naval Asylum, 

Philadelphia, Dec. 14th, 1866. 
Sir: I have the honor most respectfully to acknowl- 
edge the receipt of the decoration and commission of 
the order of " Sts. Mauritius and Lazarus " conferred 
upon me by His Majesty, the King of Italy. It came 
by the hands of the accomplished and gentlemanly 
Consul of His Majesty the King of Italy for Phila- 
delphia, Mr. Alonzo M. Viti. 

I am profoundly sensible of the high honor thus con- 
ferred upon me by His Royal Majesty the King of 
Italy and will treasure the memorial as coming from 
the most illustrious Monarch and gallant Knight of the 
age in which we live. For your acceptable and cour- 
teous maimer of conveying this compliment from your 
Government, be pleased to accept my sincere thanks and 
assurance of high respect and consideration. I am, 
Resply., 

Your Most Obedient Servant, 
(Signed) H. Paulding, 
Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy. 

Copy of letter written by Commodore 
Paulding during the dark days of the Civil 
War, urging a larger military force : 

A period is approaching more vital to the success 
and prosperity of the nation than any we have passed 
through since the commencement of the Rebellion. 
Our ranks are thinned by death, disease, and expiration 



290 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

of service, and the di-aft and subsequent conduct of the 
war must, and will determine whether we are to have 
speedy peace by conquest or a long and exhausting war. 
We have tried moderation in council and moderation 
in the force with which we have met the rebels in the 
field, and in both we have found them in advance of 
us, and ourselves discomfited. Our experience should 
give us knowledge, if it has not already done so, and 
now the time has arrived when every man knows that 
failing to exercise our powers is not only weakness but 
imbecility that "betrays like treason." No other 
course is left to us but to strike heavy blows and to 
repeat them until the serpent's head is crushed by the 
iron heel. To do this we must be earnest in our pur- 
pose and put forth the power of the republic by send- 
ing to the field an army the rebels cannot resist. In 
the commencement of the Rebellion we sent just about 
men enough to the field to encourage a successful 
resistance, and from that time to this we have never 
been equal to the demands of the great struggle for 
victory or defeat. In making the draft, permit me to 
suggest that it should be done alone with reference 
to the need of the country for a speedy peace. 

With the army now in the field we want at least half 
a million of men. In the first organization of the Army, 
cavalry was repudiated as too expensive, and for a long 
time the enemy, wiser than ourselves, cut off our sup- 
plies, surprised our detachments, made raids in the rear 
of our armies and in many ways made us feel the want 
of this important contingent of an army, whether it was 
aggressive or otherwise. We have learned wisdom in 
this respect if not in others by our experience and it is 
apparent to every one that a large cavahy force is that 
which is most needed. With infantry and artillery to 



APPENDIX 291 

keep the enemy behind his defenses, our cavalry, if 
in sufficient force, can cut off their suppUes, break up 
their means of concentration, by which they have given 
us much trouble, and I can readily believe, if the war 
is conducted judiciously, that it will terminate in less 
than six months from the time our new levies are 
properly organized and sent to the field. To accom- 
plish this we want fifty thousand cavalry, as many 
artillery, and not less than half a million of infantry. 
With this force at the beginning the war would have 
been ended before now. We have frittered away our 
means in driblets and to continue in the same way will 
insure us a long and wasting war. 

(Signed) H. Paulding. 

To Admiral Paulding: 

New York, Nov. 26th, '62. 
Admiral: I deem it my duty to present to you the 
enclosed extract of a letter which I have forwarded to 
the Navy Department. 

I cannot find words to express my regret to learn 
that the ofiicers of the Navy suppose that certain fool- 
ish statements in the papers respecting the Passaic's 
turret emanate from me. I have, during twenty years, 
experienced nothing but courtesy and kind encourage- 
ment from the officers of the United States Navy. To 
yourself. Admiral, I am in particular indebted for the 
advantageous position I now occupy, for without your 
firm support the Monitor would not have been built. 
I am. Admiral, 

Respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

(Signed) I. Ericsson. 
From I. Ericsson to Admiral Paulding. 



292 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

Letter from H. Paulding to Stimers, chief 
engineer of the Monitor: 

Huntington, Long Island, N. Y., 

Jan. 1, 1870. 

My dear Mr. Stimers: It gives me pleasure to learn 
that a movement has been made calling the attention 
of Congress to the merit of the gallant crew of the 
Monitor. Her collision with the Merriniac and the 
discomfiture of that formidable vessel, after she had 
destroyed the frigates, sent a thrill of joy to the heart 
of the nation and the gallant Worden and his comrades 
were deemed worthy of all that a grateful people could 
bestow. 

After the lapse of so much time it is cheering 
to realize that their merit may be acknowledged 
and placed upon the record of history by the 
liberality of the Government. The world gives to 
the general of an army and to the commander of 
a fleet the credit for the heroism displayed by the 
united efforts of the gallant men they command in 
great achievements, and you, my dear Stimers, in a 
measure lost your identity in the fight of the Merri- 
mac and Monitor, although without your presence, 
your skill, and indomitable courage the victory might 
not have been won. 

The formidable character of the Merrimac was known 
to us and the Monitor was our only means of resisting 
what appeared her invincible power. As commandant 
of the New York Yard I hurried her preparation by 
every available means and in doing this I have remem- 
bered, with pride and a warm appreciation of your 
mechanical skill and earnest zeal, how well I was 
seconded by yourself and other distinguished chiefs in 
the Yard. 



APPENDIX 293 

When the vessel was in readiness and you assumed 
the charge of the engine I felt that nothing more could 
be done to insure success but to send forward our 
nondescript that was not unaptly characterized as a 
"cheese-box." 

The meed of merit that is justly your due can only 
be known to those who have knowledge of the skill 
with which you managed to get the Monitor to Hampton 
Roads through heavy gales, and the splendid manner 
in which you carried the first American ironclad under 
a battery of superior force. 

In whatever may be done, I sincerely hope that your 
services may be justly appreciated and rewarded. 

(Signed) H. Paulding. 

Extract from a letter of an officer of the 
Monitor: 

Annapolis, Md., 
Feb. 11, 1879. 

My dear : Your note has just reached me, and 

in order to give you a prompt reply I write at once. 
I have not had time to read your article in Harper^s 
Monthly of the noble Paulding, whose memory I 
reverence as much as you or any other naval officer 
can. He was a grand old gentleman and I esteem 
it a favor to have had his acquaintance. I shall 
read your article and Commodore Marston's letter as 
soon as I can, but not having read them I write some- 
what blindly. 

And what I now write is entirely from memory, as 
all my papers, memoranda, etc., etc., were lost in the 
Monitor when she foundered. And after an interval 
of nearly seventeen years one's memory may be a 
little out. 



294 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

The Monitor steamed from the Navy Yard at 
Brooklyn at about 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 6, 
1862, and shortly after passing the Battery we received 
a hawser from the tugboat Seth Low and immediately 
continued on our way in tow of the tugboat and our 
own engines working. 

To the best of my recollection I think I am right, for 
my memory is tenacious; we did not stop from the time 
we took the tow until we received a pilot in Chesapeake 
Bay. I know that we did not anchor or remain in the 
lower bay of New York. And I do not think any 
vessel communicated with the Monitor after she left 
the Navy Yard until we reached the Chesapeake. 

If I ever knew the orders regarding her destination, I 
have forgotten them. I never saw the orders. Of course 
Admiral Worden knows and remembers what they were. 
I have heard him say, had Captain Marston given him 
orders to proceed on his way to the Potomac, that he 
(Worden) should have disobeyed them, and proceeded 
directly to the battle-ground, just as he did. You will 
observe in Worden's report (enclosed) that Captain 
Marston suggested that he (Worden) should go to the 
Minnesota. The log-book of the Brooklyn Navy Yard 
may give the exact hour the Monitor steamed from 
the Yard. I found in that log-book the day she was 
conmiissioned, Feb. 25, 1862. In a letter of mine, 
written just after the action (and just turned up), I find 
the following, "and at 11 a.m. on Thursday we started 
down the harbor in company with the gim-boats 
Sachem and Curritiick. We went along very nicely 
and when we arrived at Governor's Island the steamer 
Seth Low came alongside and took us in tow. We 
went out past the narrows with a Hght wind from 
the west and very smooth water. The weather con- 



APPENDIX 295 

tinued the same all Thursday night, etc. etc." This 
confirms what I have already written. 

(Signed) S.D.G. 

Letter from Hiram Barney, Collector of 
the Port of New York: 

Custom House, 
New York, July 29th, 1863. 
Admiral: I wish to express to you my thanks for the 
prompt assistance rendered me by the force sent from 
the Navy Yard for the protection of this building. I 
wish also particularly to acknowledge the valuable 
services of Ensign Canfield, who commands the men 
sent by you. I regard him as an excellent officer and 
shall always be glad to hear of his advancement and 
success. I hope you will allow this force to continue 
here until we have better hopes of continued quiet and 
submission to law. I am 

With great respect, 
Truly yours, 

(Signed) Hiram Barney, 
Collector. 
Rear-Admiral Hiram Paulding, 
Navy Yard, Brooklyn. 

H. Paulding to a friend who had asked 
for autograph letters: 

Huntington, Long Island, 
April 13th, 1873. 
My dear Captain: I have not yet commenced to over- 
haul my old sea chest for antiquities, but a few days 



296 LIFE OF HIRAM PAULDING 

since, chanced upon the enclosed note from Washington 
Irving, which, in recaUing reminiscences of early life, 
it occmred to me would have the merit of novelty if 
it did not interest you from any other point of view, he 
having been all his life an associate and friend of the 
officers of the old Navy. At the same time, I may 
victimize you by saying something of my unimportant 
self, being one of that fraternity of the old Navy. 

At the close of the war with England I left Lake 
Champlain and found myself in New York without 
employment, my application for Commodore Decatur's 
squadron being unsuccessful, and, in my earnest desire 
to join the fleet then nearly ready to sail, sought the 
friendly interest of James K. Paulding, who w^th 
Washington Irving, Commodore Decatur, Lieut. Jack 
Nicholson, Henry Brevoort, one of the literary clique, 
and some others lived with Mrs. Bradish, whose house 
fronted the Battery, forming a joyous fraternity. I 
stated briefly my embarrassment and wishes and in the 
sequel was introduced to Mr. Irving, who appointed the 
next morning for me to call, and in doing so, he handed 
me an order from Commodore Decatur to report as one 
of the midshipmen of the Constellation. At that time 
Mr. Irving had arranged to go with Decatur as his 
friend, the two being much devoted to each other, and 
having a great desire to be present at the assault of 
Algiers. His preparations were made and the boat 
waited at the Battery when an event occurred that 
prevented his departure. He was through life devoted 
to the Navy and the old officers, and I was personally 
indebted to him for many acts of kindness. In taking 
a retrospect I have regarded Mr. Irving's interest in my 
affairs as having a controlling influence on my profes- 
sional life. If in recalling what may have but Uttle 



APPENDIX 297 

interest for you, I beg you will pardon the fatuity that 
" time on his scroll is forever recording." 

(Signed) H. Paulding. 

Address by Admiral Paulding Welcoming the 

Return of the Soldiers to Huntington 

AT THE Close of the Civil War 

My friends: With all my sympathies in harmony with 
the occasion of this assemblage of our people, I feel that 
no higher compliment could have been conveyed by 
my feUow citizens and neighbors than the distinction 
of being called upon to preside where there are so many 
more able and more worthy of the honor. For this 
partiality be pleased to accept my warmest acknowl- 
edgments. 

Prompted by gratitude and admiration of the gal- 
lant deeds of our citizen-soldiers, the people of Hunt- 
ington with one voice have invited them to assemble 
to receive their personal recognition of the services 
they have rendered, and to give them their warmest 
assurance of respect and regard. 

With this object ui view, it becomes my pleasing 
duty to say in the name of this community — Soldiers, 
Citizens, Friends, and Neighbors, we receive you here 
from the battle-field, from toil and privation, to do you 
honor and to extend to you the hand of fraternity. 

We thank you for your gallant deeds, for the priva- 
tions you have borne so patiently, and the endurance 
that must so severely have tested your manhood. 

We welcome you here, friends and gallant sons of 
our community, to enjoy with us the peaceful homes 
your services have so materially secured. You come 
here among us, the embodiment of honorable life, with 



298 LIFE OF HiRAM PAULDING 

victory inscribed upon your banner, the defenders of 
your country. 

You have secured to us our Nationality, our 
homes and firesides, and given to us a Country of peace 
and safety. You have vindicated and illustrated the 
great problem of man's self-government and secured the 
only asylum of liberty on earth for the poor and 
oppressed of other lands. The history of mankind has 
never accorded to men so great a glory as this, and the 
blessings of posterity will render your fame enduring. 
Whilst the posterity of traitors will blush to think 
"their fathers were your foes, " your children and your 
children's children will stand on tiptoe when their sire 
and his sacred mission as a soldier is named. 

To the honored dead who fell by your sides, the 
victims of this unholy war, and who return to us no 
more, we can only say, peace to their ashes, and as 
martyrs in a sacred cause may they enjoy a bright 
immortahty. 

Soldiers! Again we say thrice welcome, and 
again, in this friendly greeting of your neighbors, re- 
ceive their assurance of every wish for your happiness 
and prosperity. 

I now present to you Joel Scudder, Esq., a con- 
sistent, zealous, loyal citizen, an able gentleman who 
can do more justice than myself to the esteem in which 
your great and honorable services are held by this 
community. 



INDEX 



Adalbert, Prince, 91, 92; desires to consult Captain 
Paulding, 96, 99; gives reception, 102, 103, 104, 105; 
dinner given by, 106, 107. 

Adams, Charles, 241. 

Addresses, acceptance of sword, 281 ; welcome to returned 
soldiers, 297. 

Aguadillia, 165. 

Alcalde, of Huacho, 26; of Huaracanga, 42, 43, 44, 46; 
of Huaraz, 64; Pizaro, 79. 

Alexandria, troops at, 247, 248. 

Algaroba, 30, 81, 83. 

Algerine vessels, capture of, 14. 

Algiers, 296. 

Allen, Mr., 119. 

Almy, Captain John J., U.S.N., 187, 195. 

Amazon River, 142. 

Anacostia, the, 239. 

Anderson, Frank, 196, 197. 

Andes, 16, 20, 36, 39, 43, 47, 52, 80; Bolivar's march 
through, 25; sublimity of scene, 54; magnificent sun- 
set, 57; mountain scenery, effects of altitude, 58. 

Andr6, Major John, 3, 272. 

Andrews, Mr., 116. 

AnnapoHs, 160. 

Arab, the, 147. 

Araquai, 59, 60, 61. 

Archduke John of Austria (see John). 

ArUngton Heights, troops at, 247, 248, 

Asiatic station, 85, 86, 87. 

299 



300 INDEX 

Aspinwall, 165, 167, 168, 170, 174, 175, 182, 183, 185, 
195, 282; filibusters to be conveyed to, 172, 185; to 
be guarded, 191; Walker's letter received at, 192. 

Asylum for British seamen {see Greenwich Hospital). 

Atacama, deserts of, 23. 

Athens, 208. 

Azores, cruise as far as, 142. 

Babylon, L. I., 216. 

Bacon, Lord Francis, 211. 

Bailey, Commodore Theodorus, U.S.N., 13. 

Ballard, Commodore Henry E., U.S.N., 134. 

Baltic Sea, 88, 104. 

Barbary powers, 14. 

Barney, Hiram, letter from, 295. 

Barranca, 35, 36, 38, 39. 

Barranca River, 52. 

Bates, Edward, 241. 

BattaUon of Chasseurs, 150. 

Beadles, 114. 

Beale, Mrs., 252. 

Beaumont, Lieutenant, J. C, U.S.N., 173. 

Bellevue Hospital, 174. 

Berhn, 91, 96; American Minister at, 88, 97. 

Biddle, Commodore James, U.S.N., 85, 86. 

Bladensburgh, 250. 

Blair, Montgomery, 241. 

Bluefields, 145. 

Bobes, 78. 

Boca del Torro, 178, 179, 185, 186. 

Bogota, 172, 173. 

Bohme, H. W., 93. 

BoUvar, General Simon, 60, 62, 72, 84; Paulding bearer of 
despatches to, 16, 25; Incas banner presented to, 42; 
conversation with, 67; discussion of European and 
American pohtics, 68; charm of manner, 69; Cap- 
tain Paulding dines with him, 69. See also "Liber- 
ator," 



INDEX 301 

"Bolivar in his Camp," the book, 16, 19, 222. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon, 77. 

Borrett, Mr., 118. 

Boston, Port Admiral of, 270. 

Bouton's Point (see Huntington). 

Bowie, Mr., information given by, 178, 179. 

Bowhn, Mr., 172, 173. 

Boyce, Abraham, letter from, 274, 275, 276, 277; letter 
to, 272, 273, 274. 

Bradhurst, Samuel, farm at Huntington purchased from, 
223. 

Bradish, Mrs., 296. 

Brady, photograph by, 208. 

Bremen, 89, 92, 93, 96, 113, 133, 218; Civic Guard of, 94. 

Bremerhaven, 88, 91, 92, 93, 95; despatches from, 131; 
port of Bremen, 133. 

Breton, Captain, 118. 

Brevoort, Henry, 296. 

Bridge (Chain), 251. 

Brooks, mayor. 111. 

Brunswick, the, 187, 188, 190. 

Buchanan, James, Paulding ignored during his administra- 
tion, 200; censure by, 280. 

Buena Vista, 217. 

Buenos Ayres, 211. 

Bulow, Von, 96. 

Burton, Mr., 186. 

Butler, General B. F., U.S.A., his term for negroes, 260, 
261. 

Butler, Lady, 118. 

Byron, Lord G. G., 209, 225. 

Cabanas, expedition through the fort, 151, 152, 153, 154. 

Cadiz, 89, 122, 123. 

Calderon, 212. 

Caldwell, William M., letter from, 198, 199, 200. 

California, 217, 218. 

Callao, 19, 23. 



302 INDEX 

Cambreleng, Hon. C. C, 229, 241; letters from, 216, 
217, 218. 

Cameron, Simon, 241. 

Campbell, Thomas, 225. 

Canfield, Ensign, 295. 

Cantagalli, R., letter from, 288; letter to, 289. 

Cape Horn, 204. 

Capture of John Paulding by British, 3, 273, 274, 275; 
of Major Andr6, 3; of Algerine vessels, 14; of 
Mutineers of the Globe, 17; of Lieutenant Meade at 
Fort Sumter, 269; of WiUiam Walker, 279, 280, 284. 

Casadores go through evolutions, 151. 

Cassava, 43, 48. 

Cassin, Conmiander Stephen, U.S.N., 9, 11. 

Castillo, 196. 

Central America 191 ; interesting to England, 140. 

Central America, the, 175, 176. 

Cervantes, 212. 

Chain Bridge, 251. 

Champlain, Lake, 296; lake squadron, 9; battle of, 10, 212; 
Paulding's service on, 90. 

Chancallain, 48. 

Channel, British, 133. 

Chase, Salmon P., 241. 

Chasseurs, Battahon of, 150. 

Chatard, Captain Frederick, U.S.N., 186, 191, 192, 195; 
interferes with Walker's plans, 183. 

Chauncey, Commodore Isaac, U.S.N., 7. 

"Cheese-box," 293. 

Cherimoya, 61. 

Chesapeake Bay, 294. 

Chile, ex-president of, 73. 

China, 85, 86. 

Chiriqui, 178, 185, 195; guarding of, 191. 

Christiania, 130. 

Church at Himtington, history of, 228. 

Cilly, Lieutenant Greenleaf, U.S.N., 192. 

City Hall Park, New York., site of, 2. 



INDEX 303 

Civil War, mutterings of, 232; letter written during, 289, 
290, 291; return of soldiers after, 297, 298. 

Cob Dock, work of reclaiming, 260, 261, 262, 263. 

Cochran, Mr., 118. 

Cochrane, Lord, 204. 

Cockburn, Mr., 116. 

Cold Spring, 228. 

Cologne, 110. 

Colombia, 72; army of, 25; her part in cause of freedom, 67; 
religion in, 74; Spanish chiefs in, character of, 77, 78. 

Colombians, compared with Peruvians, 70; compared 
with Spaniards, 72. 

Colorado River, 195, 196. 

Coltishall, England, 209, 210. 

Columbia, S. C, prison in, 269. 

Columbus, the, 85, 86. 

"Commodore Paulding," the, 134. 

Common Council, of Southampton, 113, 114, 115, 116. 

Concord, N. H., 136. 

Confederacy, the, 141. 

Confederates, 256. 

Confederation, Congress, 95; Germanic 91, 108. 

Congress, U. S., Germanic, 96; gives medal to captors, 
3; gives prize money and sword, 12, 131. 

Constellation, the, 14, 222, 296. 

Constitution, the, 85. 

"Contrabands of war," 261. 

Cooper, James Fenimore, "Naval History," 10; extract 
from, 11. 

"Copperhead," part in Draft Riot, 263. 

Cordilleras, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61. 

Com Islands, 145. 

Corral, General, 145, 146. 

Cortlandt, N. Y., birthplace of Hiram Paulding, 5. 

Corwine, Mr., 178. 

Costa Rica, republic of, 143, 197; Walker's possible en- 
trance into, 178; mountains of, 186; expedition 
against, 191. 



304 INDEX 

Cottrell, Mr., 143, 144, 146, 147, 187. 

Courage, Mr., 127. 

Gouty, Colonel, 172. 

Cowan, Mr., 172, 173. 

Crawford, Mr., 149. 

Cronstadt, 89. 

Croskey, Mr., Ill, 113, 114, 116, 119, 120. 

Cruise, Pacific, 14, 204, 233; Mediterranean, 208, 222; 

China, 85, 86, 87; West Indies, 85, 142; of the SL 

Lawrence, 88 to 133.' 
''Cruise of the Dolphin," 222. 
Cuba, 150. 
Cumberland, the, 239, 240; sinking of, 213; at anchor, 

238. 
Currituck, the, 294. 
Cuvier, George L. G. F. D., 210. 
Cyane, the, 142, 171, 172, 173. 

Dacres, Captain J. R., R. N., 122. 

Dahlgren, Captain John A., U.S.N., 250. 

Dahlgren, Miss, 250. 

Davis, Rear Admiral Charles Henry, U.S.N., testimony 
of, 17; Walker surrenders to him, 141; duty in Wash- 
ington, 233, 244, 246. 

Davis, Jefferson, 236; at White House, 139. 

de Castro, Viscount, 124. 

Deacon, Mr., 116. 

Decatur, Commodore Stephen, U.S.N., 14, 296. 

Dee, the, 172, 184, 185. 

Del Santo, Captain, 288. 

Denmark, deputation from, 92, 126. 

Deserts, of Atacama, 23; beyond Huaura, 31; lost in, 
experiences in, 81; sufferings in, 82, 83. 

Dewey, Admiral George, U.S.N., 15 (foot-note). 

Dillard, Doctor, U.S.N., 143. 

Dixon, Peter, master of ceremonies, 117. 

Dobbin, James C, letter from, 180, 181, 182. 

Dobbin, John, his death, 175. 



INDEX 305 

Dolphin, the, 17, 25; "Cruise in the Dolphin," by H. P., 

222. 
Donaldson, Fort, 4. 
Donelson, Mr., 89, 96, 97, 98, 99. 
Douglas, Admiral, R.N., 119. 
Douglas, Stephen A., 137. 
Draft Riot, 265, 266; nature of, 263; outrages committed, 

force to meet, 264. 
Dresden, 100, 101. 

Drummond, Lieutenant, R.N., 115, 118. 
Duckwitz, Minister, 103, 105, 106, 108. 
Dulwich, 127. 

Dundas, Admiral, R.N., first Lord of the Admiralty, 118. 
Dunkeim, Marquis, 96. 
Dunlop, Mr., 172, 173. 
"Dutchman's Fireside," 18. 

Eagle, the, 212. 

East Indies, service in, 85. 

East Neck, see Huntington. 

Edwards, Doctor David S., U.S.N., and Mrs., 241. 

Edwards, Mr., collector of customs, 119. 

Elbe, River, 112. 

ElUs, William A., foot-note, 15. 

Ellsworth, Colonel Ephraim Elmer, U.S.A., 248. 

Ellsworth, P. G., 13. 

Emerson, R. W., 226. 

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 211. 

Engle, Captain Frederick, U.S.N., 243; accompanies 

the President, 156, 162, 163; conveys letter, 188. 
Ericsson, John, 214; reUance on, 237; his monitor, 254; 

letter from, 291. 
Ericsson, the, Monitor so called, 258; arrival at Hampton 

Roads, 266. 
Erskine, Captain, 172, 173. 
Escheveria, General, 151, 153. 
Espihgle, the, 143. 
Estidio, the, 14. 



306 INDEX 

Fairfax, Lieutenant D. M., U.S.N., 173. 

Falmouth, the, 142. 

Fashion, the, 183, 185, 186; Walker in the steamer, 195; 

Walker lands from, 197. 
Fatchio, Commander, 187. 
Fidelity, motto on captor's medal, 3, 271. 
Filibusters, 195, 197, 198; preventing filibusterism, 183; 

law expenses, 240. 
Fillmore, Millard, 160. 
Finisterre, Cape, 89, 
Fisher, Fort, 4. 
Fisher's Island, 247. 
Flatbush, L. I., 221, home in, 222. 
Fortress Monroe, 239, 259, 266, 267. 
Francis, Charles, captain's secretary, 114, 120. 
Frankfort, 91, 95, 96, 100, 101, 102, 107, 108. 
Frederick the Great, palace of, 99. 
Fugitive Slave Law, 138. 
Fulton, the, 142, 155, 182, 186, 187, 188, 189; sent to 

Mobile, 195. 
Fulton, the, river steamer, 7. 

"General Henderson," the, 134. 
Geofrey, Commander, 149. 
Georgia, 206, 207. 
German Navy, 92, 96, 99. 
German Parliament, 91, 102, 103. 
Germanic Confederation, 91, 108. 
Gettysburg, battle of, 264. 
Gibbons, Master, 6. 
Gilmer, Mr., 241. 

Gilliss, Captain James M., U.S.N., 252. 
Globe, the, 17. 

Goldsboro, Commodore Louis M., U.S.N., 214. 
Goodwin Sands, danger of, 112. 
Gotha, 101. 

Governors, Huacho, 26, 27, 38, 79; Huaura, 31, 32; Supe, 
33; Barranca, 36, 38; Patavilca, 38, 39; Huaracanga, 



INDEX 307 

41; Gulcan, 44, 45, 46; Chancallain, 48, 50; Marca, 

55; Araquai, 60; Santa, 79, 80. 
Governor's Island, 294. 

Granada, republic of, 143, 145, 146, 17? , 17 7 . — ~" 

Gray, Captain, 175. 

Greece, queen of, entertained, 92. 

Green, Mr., English consul, 187. 

Greenwich Hospital, visit to, 127, 128, 129. 

Greytown, governor of, 144, 145, 147, 172. 

Guadalupe, 80, 83. 

Guide, 26, 27, 38; unable to speak Spanish, 59; loses his 

way, 81, 82, 83; new guide obtained, 84. 
Guise, Admiral, 24. 
Gulcan, 44, 46. 

Hale, Nathan, capture of, 228. 

Hamburg, 95. 

Hampton Roads, 214; Merrimac ordered to, 238, 258, 

259, 266, 293. 
Hanover, 95, 97. 
Hanse, Mr., 157. 
Hanseatic cities, 101. 
Harper's Ferry, 245. 
Harper's Monthly, 293. 
Hassler, Charles, 247. 
Hassler, Dr. Ferdinand, U.S.N., 247. 
Havana, 147, 148, 193; troops at, 154. 
Hawes, Mary, 115. 
Hawes, Siday, 115, 126, 127; friendship for, 202, 208; 

letters from, 209, 210, 211, 212. 
Heathcote, Colonel, 1. 

Heinzelman, General Samuel, U.S.A., 249, 251. 
Hehgoland, island of, 112. 
Henderson, General Archibald, U.S.M.C., 157. 
"Henderson, General," the (see General). 
Herndon, Captain WiUiam L., U.S.N., loss of vessel, 

175, 176. 
Hesse, 101. 



308 INDEX 

Hoff, Lieutenant Henry K., U.S.N., 112, 113, 115. 

Holiway, Mr., 118. 

Holstein, 133. 

Holy Alliance, 211. 

Home Squadron, the, 141, 194, 233, 281. 

Honduras, 143. 

Hoover, Marshal, 157. 

Hopkins, Mr., 122, 124. 

Hornsby, Captain, call from, 146, 187; on board Wdbashf 
190. 

Hospital, Greenwich, 127, 128, 129. 

Houses of Parhament, 127. 

Huacho, 25, 27, 34, 38, 79. 

Huaracanga, 41, 42, 44, 45. 

Huaraz, 60, 61, 64, 79. 

Huaura, 31, 32, 33. 

Huava, 30, 31. 

Hull, Commodore Isaac, U.S.N., 16, 25, 26, 66. 

Humboldt, Alexander, von, 99. 

Hunter, General David, U.S.A., 244, 249. 

Hunter, Mr., 58, 59, 73, 80. 

Huntington, 194, 216, 297; home at {see also "Peach 
Blossom"), 88, 164, 200, 223, 224, 270, 285; Bouton's 
Point, 224; East Neck, 228; West Neck, 216, 217, 
223, 231, 253; age of village — history — "Old 
Times in" (note), church at, 228. 

Hutchins, Mr., 143, 146. 

Hutchins, Mr., ex.-M.P., 116. 

Hythe, landed at, 118. 

Incas, banner of the, 42. 
Incas, treasures of the, 32. 
Illinois, the, 176. 
Independence, the, 14, 277. 
Ironsides, model of, 237. 

Irving, Washington, received on board Wabash, 164; 
influence of his interest on career of Paulding, 296. 
Irving, WilUam, 201. 



INDEX 309 

Isabel, the, 194. 

Isle of Shoals, 158. 

Italy, King of, 287, 288, 289. 

Jamestown, the, 192; attacks the Monitor, 266. 
Jamaica, 144, 187, 188. 
Japan, ports closed, 86. 
John of Austria, Archduke, 108, 109, 110. 
Johnson, Captain, 113. 
Johnson, Samuel, prayer by, 209. 

Juarez, General, transmits thanks of Nicaraguan Govern- 
ment, 282. 

"Kalmia," 216, 224, 231, 270. 

Kansas, 137, 138. 

Kellogg, Anne Maria, wife of Hiram Paulding, 221. 

Kennedy, Commander, U.S.N., 192. 

Keystone State, the, 242. 

Kiel, Captain, R.N., 116. 

Kinney, Colonel, 143, 145, 147. 

King of Italy, letter regarding his bestowal of the order, 

287, 288; acknowledgment of decoration conferred 

by, 289. 
King of Portugal, visit to, 124. 
Kingston, Jamaica, 187, 188. 

Lacerna, Viceroy, 25. 

Laishley, George, mayor of Southampton, 115. 

Lambert, Captain, 143. 

Lanesta, Colonel, 148. 

Lannete, Colonel, visit from, 150; escorts visitors through 

fortress, 151; manner, address, 153. 
La Perouse, 149. 
"La Punta,"56, 57, 58. 
Lea, Mr., 148. 

Lee, General Robert E., 263. 
Lefferts, Jarvis, 229. 
Lenthal, John, naval constructor, 237. 



310 INDEX 

Leopard, the, 187, 188. 

Leps, the, 149. 

Levant, the, 85. 

"Liberator," the {see also Bohvar), 16, 26, 66; threats of 
his vengeance, 45; arrival at headquarters, 61, 
62; audience with, 65; his esteem for Colonel Sands, 
69; toasts, 71; his ambitions, 72; opinions regarding 
Spaniards, 72; Captain Paulding breakfasts with 
him, 73, 74; his espousal of cause of Uberty, 77; 
appearance, 78; sketch of, 222. 

Lima, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25. 

Lincoln, Abraham, 232, 260. 

Lisbon, 89, 111, 121, 122, 123. 

Lloyds Harbor, 285. 

Long, Lady, 118. 

Louisiana Purchase, 137. 

Low, Seth, the, 294. 

Luther, Martin, prison-house of, 101. 

Macedonian, the, 14, 15, 202, 204, 277. 

Madison, James, Hiram Paulding receives his appoint- 
ment in Navy from, 6. 

Malabar, the, heroism of her captain, 125. 

Marca, 53, 54, 55. 

Marriage, 221. 

Marston, Commodore John, U.S.N., 293, 294. 

Martha, 235. 

Martin, Mr., 144. 

Mashoudah, the, 14. 

Mason, J. Y., 90, 131, 132, 133. 

Maynard, U.S.N., heroism, 247. 

Mayor (of Southampton), see Southampton. 

McCauley, Commodore Charles S., U.S.N., 237, 238. 

McClellan, General George B., U.S.A., movements, 
250. 

McClellan's rigging loft, 15. 

McDonald, Mr., lands with Walker, 197. 

McDonough, Commodore Thomas, U.S.N., 9, 212. 



INDEX 311 

Meade, General George Gordon, U.S.A., 264; Captain 
Richard Worsam, U.S.N., commands "Receiving 
ship," 259, 260; value of his work at New York 
Navy Yard, 260, 261, 262, 263; Lieutenant Robert 
Leamy, U.S.M.C., capture at Fort Sumter — im- 
prisonment — is exchanged, 269. 

Medal, given to captors of Major Andre, 3, 271. 

Mediterranean, cruise in, 208, 222. 

Melendez, 212. 

Memorandum, regarding destruction of Norfolk Navy 
Yard, 235 to 240. 

Merrimac, the {see also the Virginia), 237, 238; attacks 
the Cumberland, 213; fight of, 258, 259, 266; collision 
of with Monitor, 292. 

Mexico, 140, 191, 217; Gulf of, 182. 

Mill, John Stuart, 211. 

Miller, General, 65, 66, 73. 

Milton, John, 225. 

Ministers of England, France, Saxony, Austria, 97; 
Sweden and Russia, 123. 

Minnesota, the, 294. 

Mississippi River, 242. 

Missouri, the, 125. 

Missouri Compromise, 137. 

Mobile, 185, 195. 

MoUna, 210. 

Molina, Louis, envoy extraordinary — letters from, 278, 
279, 280, 281; letter to, 283, 284. 

Mongoose, description of, 170, 171. 

Monitor, the (see also the Ericsson), building of, 237 
fight of, 258, 259; help of support given to, 291 
letter from Hiram Paulding to engineer of, 292, 293 
letter from officer of, 293, 294, 295. 

" Monitor and Merrimac," the fight — Paulding's part in 
bringing it about, 258, 259. 

Montezumas, Hall of the, 217. 

Monument, to John Paulding, 272; to Hiram Paulding, 
229, 230. 



312 INDEX 

Moratin, 212. 

Morgan, the, 196; seized by Walker, 197. 

Morgan, Mr., 197. 

Morro, visit to — review of troops, 151; dungeons of, 

152, 153; departure from, 155. 
Morse, Charles, 208. 
Morse, Professor Samuel B., Paulding meets him at 

Athens, 208. 
Mosquito Coast, protectorate over, 140; territory, 147, 

181; flag, 144, 147, 181; king, 145. 
Mounds, in Peru, 32, 41, 42. 
Moyen, 178. 
Mulgrave Islands, 17. 
Mutineers, of whale-ship Globe, 17. 

Nancy, 135. 

Napier, Admiral Sir Charles, R.N., 122, 124. 

National Assembly, 105, 106. 

Naval Academy, 16, 162. 

Naval Asylum, 235, 270, 289. 

Navy Yard, Boston, 15, 204; New York, 208, 264, 265, 
269, 285, 292, 294, 295; Paulding executive officer of, 
85; ordered to conunand of, 253; work at — during 
Civil War, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259; Cob Dock at, 
260; Captain Meade's work at, 261, 262, 263; de- 
tached from, 270; Norfolk, 141, 237, 238, 239; de- 
struction of, 240; Washington, 134, 138, 142, 247. 

Nebraska, 137, 138. 

Negroes, at New York Navy Yard, 260, 261; "contra- 
band of war," 261. 

Newfoundland, 142. 

New Holland, 210. 

New Mexico, 218. 

New Orleans, 141, 173, 195. 

New Providence Island, 177. 

New York, 142, 174. 

Nicaragua, 143, 146, 180, 181, 184, 190, 241, 279, 280, 281, 
283; troubles in, 140; Walker in, 141; conditions of 



INDEX 313 

government, 182; offers land and sword to Admiral 
Paulding, 183; expedition against, 191; army of, 192; 
invasion of, 195, 197, 282; thanks of — as vindicating 
Admiral Paulding, 196; sword given by, 278; coat 
of arms of — on sword, 285. 

Nicaragua, Lake, 145. 

Nicholson, Lieutenant John, U.S.N., 296. 

Nicocher, General, 73. 

Nicola Mole, 142. 

Nieu Amsterdam, 1. 

Norfolk, England, 209, 210. 

Norfolk, Va., 189, 192, 204, 235, 238, 266. 

North American Review, 210. 

North Carolina, the, 260, 269. 

Northern Light, the, 175, 176, 177. 

Northport, 226, 228. 

North Sea, 88, 90, 104, 111, 112, 133. 

Norton, Lady CaroUne, 123. 

Norway, 126. 

Norwich, 14. 

Norwich Academy, 15 {see also Partridge's Academy). 

Nuncio, papal, description of, 123. 

Ogle, Captain, R.N., 147. 

O'Higgins, General, 73. 

Ohio River, 242. 

Oldenburg, Duke of, 92, 93, 95, 96. 

Old Providence Island, 177. 

Ollapodrida, 34. 

Omanney, Captain, dines aboard Wabash, 187. 

Ontario, Lake, 9. 

Order, Sts. Maurice and Lazarus, letter regarding bestowal 
of order, 287, 288; letter regarding transmission of 
insignia, 288; letter acknowledging receipt of decora- 
tion, 289. 

Oregon, 217. 

Orion, the, 173. 

Oyster Bay, 226, 228, 229. 



314 INDEX 

Pacific, cruises in, 14, 16, 17, 18, 233. 

Page, Commander Richard L., U.S.N., 238. 

Palace of Frederick the Great, 99. 

Palmer, G. M., 13. 

Panama, 141, 176; Canal, 174; R. R. Company (note), 
143, 173. 

Papal nuncio, 123. 

Parliament, German, tenders Captain Paulding a command 
in German service, 92; speeches of, 103. 

Parliament, Houses of, 127. 

Partridge, Captain Alden, 14. 

Partridge's Academy, 205 (see Norwich Academy, 15). 

Passaic, the, 291. 

Passports, used in journey to and from Bolivar's camp, 
26, 27, 45, 78. 

Patavilca, 38, 39, 48. 

Pauldinck, Joost, ancestor of Hiram Paulding, emigrates 
from Holland, 1; his wife, Cater jna, 1. 

Paulding, Abraham, 2; George, 3, 4; Hiram, Jr., sword 
in his possession, 12; James K., 201, 296; author of 
"Dutchman's Fireside," 18; letter from, 277, 278; 
John, 276, 277; birth, mihtary duty, 2; capture of 
Andr6, 3; capture and imprisonment by British, 3, 
273, 274, 275; death, monument, 272; Joseph, 2; 
Leonard, 4, 175; Nancy, 3; Pekt, 2; Susan, 4, 7, 222; 
Tattnall, 175, 189, 193, 241, 243, 250, 270, 287; his 
name, 202; visit to Georgia, 207; secretary to his 
father, 233; in sixth cavalry, 244; in Libby Prison, 
268; exchanged, 269; William, 275. 

Pawnee, the, 239, 240. 

"Peach Blossom," 88, 225, 249, 253, 268, 270, 286, 287. 

Peacock, the, 16. 

Peekskill, monument to John Paulding at, 272. 

Pennsylvania, 264. 

Percival, Lieutenant John, U.S.N., 17. 

Percival, Mr., 118. 

Perez, Don Jos6 Rosa, presentation of sword by, 279, 280; 
reception of sword from, 282; thanks expressed to, 283, 



INDEX 315 

Peru, 16, 23, 24, 25, 38, 72, 204; army of, 26; mounds 
found in, 32, 41, 42; people of, 70, 71. 

Peruvians, 71, 211; compared with Colombians, 70. 

Pfordten, Staats-minister, 100. 

Pierce, Franklin, becomes President — problems of govern- 
ment—attitude toward affairs, 136, 137, 138, 139, 
140, 141; his trip on the Wabash, 156, 157, 158, 159, 
160, 161. 

Pierce, Mrs., 139. 

Piesara, 80. 

Pilot of Goodwin Sands, fame - — is knighted, 112. 

Pizaro, Alcalde, 79. 

Platen, Count, letter from, 129, 130. 

Piatt, Henry C, 228. 

Plattsburg, 10; letter from citizens of, 12. 

Pleasants, Mr., 148. 

Point Arenas (see Punta Arenas). 

Point Torro, 170. 

Pollard, Commander, R.N., 173. 

Pompeii, 99. 

Pope, Alexander, 225. 

Port Admiral of Boston, 270. . 

Porter, Commodore David, U.S.N., 16, 205. 

Porto Bello, 167. 

Portsmouth, N. H., 156. 

Portugal, King of, visit to, 124. 

Potomac, the, 155, 156, 164, 165; Paulding's flag-ship, 142. 

Potomac River, 239, 243, 247, 249. 

Potsdam, 97, 99. 

Powell, Captain Levin M., U.S.N., 143, 151, 241; in 
command of flag-ship, 142. 

Prefect of Huaraz, 61, 62. 

President, the, 9. 

Prize money, 12. 

Prometheiis, the, 14. 

Providence Island, 176. 

Prussia, 92; king of, 91, 98; kingdom of, 89; Prussian 
government, 96. 



316 INDEX 

Prussian Minister, 89. 

Prussians, oflBcers, 89, 91. 

Punta Arenas, 186, 187, 192, 197, 282; the Saratoga at, 

182; Walker's landing at, 195. 
Punta de Castilla, arrest of Walker at, 279, 280, 284; 

engraved on sword, 285. 

Ri d' Italia, the, assistance rendered, 288, 289. 

Renshaw, Commodore James, U.S.N., 85. 

Reynolds, Mrs., 250. 

Rhine, the, 110. 

Rhinelander, Doctor William, 228. 

Ricardo, 211. 

Richmond, 245. 

Rimac River, 21. 

Rimac Valley, 19. 

Rio Grande, 217. 

Rivera, Mr., 143. 

Rivers, Lady, 118. 

Robb, Commander, U.S.N., 172. 

Robertson, Mr., 148. 

Rothschilds, Frankfort the residence of, 102. 

Row-galleys, 11. 

Roxas, Don Jos^, 40. 

Rutland, daughter of Duke of, 118. 

Rynders, Marshall, 140. 

Sachem, the, 294. 

Sackett's Harbor, 7, 8, 207. 

St. Andrews, island of, 177. 

St. Lawrence, the, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 98, 111, 112, 114, 

118, 119, 122, 123, 126, 129, 131, 132, 133, 218; 

oflBcers of — toast to, 117. 
Sts. Maurice and Lazarus, Order of, 288, 289 {see also 

Order). 
St. Vincent, the, 122. 
Saldanha, Duke of, 124. 
Salter, Lieutenant, 277. 



INDEX 317 

Sal y Rosa, Don Emmanuel, 64, 65, 79. 

Sands, Colonel, 69. 

San Francisco, foot-note, 143. 

San Jos6, 178. 

San Juan del Norte, 142, 143, 147, 171, 172, 173, 178, 
180, 181, 182, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 192, 195, 
196, 279, 280, 281; importance of, 144; expedition to 
land at, 150; guarding of, 191. 

San Lorenzo, island of, 19. 

San Salvador, 143. 

Sans Souci, palace of, 98. 

Santa, 79, 82. 

Santa River, 80. 

Saratoga, the, 142, 173, 182, 184, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 
195, 196, 281; suspension of her captain, 191; dis- 
courtesy to her captain, 192; fiUbusters sent aboard, 
197. 

Sartorius, Admiral Sir George, R.N., 123; letter to, 
124, 125, 126. 

Savannah, 206, 207, 208. 

Saxe-Coburg, German Prince of, 124. 

Saxony, king of, 101; minister of state of, 100. 

Schleswig, 133. 

Scott, Mr., 184. 

Scott, General Winfield, U.S.A., 241. 

Scudder, Joel, 298. 

Sea Gull, the, 16. 

Seventh Regiment, 233, 247. 

Seward, William H., 241. 

Seymour, Captain, 125. 

Shakespeare, William, 225. 

Shark, the, 85, 222. 

Shubrick, Commodore WilHam B., U.S.N., 215. 

Silver oar, 113, 114. 

Sinclair, Lady, 118. 

Sinclair, Lieutenant George, U.S.N., 173, 191. 

Sinclair, Captain Sir John Gordon, R.N., 117, 118, 119. 

Sing Sing, 276. 



318 INDEX 

Sixth Cavalry, 233, 244, 250. 

Slavery, President Pierce's attitude toward, 137, 138. 

Slaves, 135, 235. 

Sleepy Hollow, old churchyard of, 2. 

Smith, Burgomaster, 108. 

Smith, Rear-Admiral Joseph, U.S.N., character, service, 

212, 213; his son Joseph, 213; letters from, 214, 

215, 216; responsibility devolving on, 237. 
"S. P. G," the, 228. 
Southampton, 88, 92, 111, 112, 114, 117, 120, 132j mayor 

of, 113, 114, 116, 126; River, 114. 
Spuyten Duyvil Creek, 275. 
Staatsburg, 272. 
Star of the West, the, 175. 
Staten Island, 87, 222. 
Stetson, L., 13. 

Stewart, Commodore Charles, U.S.N., 241. 
Stimers, Mr., letter to, 292, 293. 
Stockholm, visit of St. Lawrence to, 129. 
Stockton, Mrs. Francis B., 243, 248. 
Stout, Captain William, 171, 228, 241. 
Stringham, Rear-Admiral Silas H., U.S.N., 244. 
Sugar House, John Paulding a prisoner in, 274, 275. 
Sumter, Fort, 141; needs of, 241; capture of Lieutenant 

Meade at, 269. 
Sun, the, 249. 
Supe, 33. 
Swan, G., 267. 

Sweden, 92, 126; visit of St. Lawrence to, 130. 
Sword, for service on Lakes, 12; given by Nicaraguan 

Government, 183, 278, 279, 280; acceptance of, 281, 

282, 283; letter acknowledging receipt of sword, 283, 

284; description of, 285. 

Tabor, John, 17. 
Tague, 89, 124. 
Tarpeian rock, 77. 
Tarrytown, 2, 273, 276. 



INDEX 319 

Tartar, the, 172, 173. 

Tattnall, Edward, 206; Commodore Josiah, U.S.N., 202, 
203, 205, 206, 207; life of, 208; Paulding, 202. 

Tecklenborg, Francis, 96. 

Teed, Sarah, 3, 276. 

Terceira, Duke of, 124. 

Texas, 245. 

Thames, the, 127, 128. 

Thompkins, the schooner, 7. 

7'iconderoga, the, 9, 11. 

Tilden, Mr. Samuel J., 157. 

Times, the, 249; reporters of, 115. 

Tingey, Commodore Thomas, U.S.N., 134. 

Toasts, to the memory of Washington, 71; to the Wash- 
ington of the South, 71; Captain of the St. Lawrence, 
94; Captain and oflBcers, 117; President of the 
United States, 94, 117; Secretary of the Navy, 94; 
success of the German Navy, 106; health of the 
Queen, 117. 

Toomey, Mr., 212. 

Tories, 275, 276. 

Totten, General Joseph S., U.S.A., 172, 173, 179, 250. 

Toucey, Isaac, Secretary of Navy — letter from, 191, 192. 

Tract of land offered by Nicaraguan Government, 183. 

Trenchard, Lieutenant-Commander Stephen D., U.S.N., 
242. 

Truxillo, 79, 84. 

Tucker, Alanson, 159. 

Tuttle, Colonel, U.S.A., 8. 

United States, the, 16, 17. 
University of Norwich, 15. 

Valparaiso, 204. 

Van Buren, Martin, 229. 

Van Cortlandt, Colonel, 2. 

Van Lare, Abraham, 2. 

Van Wart, Isaac, captor of Andr6, 3. 



320 INDEX 

Vatel, according to, 199. 

Vecuna, 56. 

Vincennes, the, 85, 86, 87. 

Virgin Bay, 145. 

Virginia, 138, 238, 244, 247, 249. 

Virginia, the (see also Merrimac), 258. 

Viti, Alonzo M., 289. 

Von Gagern, Heinrich Wilhelm, 106, 107, 108. 

Von Gerolt, Baron, 113. 

Von Wangenheim, Major, 96, 97. 

Wabash, the, 164, 167, 173, 174, 175, 183, 189, 192, 193, 
195; President's visit to, 156, 160; filibusters aboard, 
190. 

Wainwright, Captain, R.N., 187. 

Walker, WilUam, 140, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 172, 174, 
178, 180, 182, 187, 194, 199; "gray-eyed man of 
destiny," 183; arrival at San Juan, 184, 185; his sur- 
render demanded, 188; his officers aboard the Sara- 
toga, 189; visit from — his conduct, 190; letter to — 
demanding surrender, 192, 193; lands at Punta Arenas, 
195; sent with his men to war-ships, 196; the Morgan 
seized by, 197; embarrassments incident to capture 
of, 197, 198; capture of, 280, 281. 

Wallabout Bay, 260. 

Ward, Doctor Thomas, 228. 

Ward, Esther, mother of Hiram Paulding, 3. 

Washington, city of, 134, 135, 138, 160, 162, 235; court- 
martial duty in, 232; a big camp, 244; a miUtary 
camp, 247; fears for, 249; security of, 251; a store- 
house, 252. 

Washington, George, toast to his memory, 71; toast to 
"the Washington of the South," 71; his character 
referred to by BoHvar, 72. 

Washington, G., 157. 

Washington, the, 113. 

"Washington of the South," 71. 

Wayne, Judge I. M., 241. 



INDEX 321 

Webster, Sydney, 157. 

Weed, Smith M., 13. 

Welles, Gideon, 232, 241, 242, 250, 256, 259. 

Weser River, 92, 111, 112, first American man-of-war In, 

133. 
Westchester County, 273; birthplace of Hiram Paulding, 

5; patriots of, 272. 
West Indies, piracy in, 16, 205; cruise in, 85; service in, 

142. 
West Neck, see Huntington. 
Westminster Abbey, 126. 
Westmoreland, Earl of, 97. 
West Point, 5. 
Wheel of Fortune, the, 2. 
Wheeler, J. H., 143; extract from his despatch, 180; 

his movements, 181, 182. 
White House, 139, 163, 164. 
White Plains, 275; grant of land at, 2. 
White, Susannah, 2. 
Wieburg, Mr., 97. 

Williams, David, captor of Major Andr6, 3. 
Wilson, Captain, 64. 
Wilson, Henry, 241. 

Woodbury, Captain Daniel P., U.S.N., 251. 
Woodbury, Mrs., 252. 
Woodhull, Captain Maxwell, U.S.N., 198, 249; duty in 

Washington, 233. 
Woodhull, Mrs., 250. 
Worden, Captain John L., U.S.N., 294; gallant conduct, 

292. 

Yale College, 222. 

Young, Samuel, 273. 

Youngs, Thomas F., letter to, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198. 

Yorktown, the, attacks the Monitor, 266. 



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